by Cari Quinn
“Wonder why? Could it be that she saw you and my brother-in-law loitering out front? Not your bodyguard though, because you gave him the slip. He thought you were at home in bed. Meanwhile, Teagan and my sister-in-law were walking into a potentially dangerous situation to meet with someone who may or may not be who she says she is. Who most likely doctored Zane’s drink.”
“Ricki told you?” Cooper asked. “Fuck.”
Even I knew to cover my face at that one. “She didn’t know she wasn’t supposed to talk about it.”
“She knew we slipped our security though.”
“So sorry you neglected to fill her in on the full secrecy surrounding your idiotic plan.”
“Or the rest of us,” Noah added. “I thought you called me because you were worried about Teagan. Instead, you were just sending me off to spin my wheels.”
“What do you mean he called you?” I craned my neck to look up at Cooper. He had already paced away to brace his hands on the frame of the window across the aisle. “When?”
“When you were sleeping,” he replied before returning his attention to Noah. “And I told you the truth. We had—have—suspicions that woman isn’t really Priscilla Jones. I did a preliminary search and couldn’t get anywhere. So, I figured you had resources I don’t. Stupid me, thinking that you’d be willing to help.”
“I did get somewhere. We will exhaust all our resources to find out if she is truly who she says she is. But I should have known about that meeting.”
“We both should have known,” Lila put in. “Period.”
I was still pissed. No one appeared to care how I felt, but I was going to voice it, anyway. “I woke up looking for you, and you weren’t there. I was having a panic attack, and you were on the phone, plotting with Noah? Talking about things you should have talked about with me first?”
Silently, Lindsey laid a hand on my arm in support.
“You needed rest.”
“You needed to be straight with me, if what you found warranted a phone call to Noah.”
“Did you just hear me? I said I didn’t get anywhere. And I intended to tell you about talking to Noah, but you woke up first, and you were freaking out. I wasn’t thinking about the pissing match I’d just had with him.” Cooper jerked a thumb toward Noah.
I frowned. “What do you mean?” I looked at Noah. “What kind of pissing match?”
Noah tucked his fists under his arms. “Ask your boyfriend.”
“Excuse me.” Jamie slapped a hand on the table. “I feel like we’re not being told a hell of a lot here. The band knew about the trouble Zane got into, except who? Lindz, me, and Oz?”
Oz scraped a hand through his long hair. “I knew. He called me, and I told him I was busy.”
“Busy busting a nut. Some friend.”
“Watch it, asshole.”
“Coop was doing the same thing, and he still helped me out.”
Oz smirked. “What, into his hand?”
I reached across the table and thwapped him in the head. “He was with me.”
“What?” He looked between Cooper and I then let out a whistle. “Well, that’s new. How did I miss that?”
Lindsey shook her head. “Save it for later, Captain Oblivious.”
Oz shrugged. “Anyway, I called Zane later and found out he’d joined the Rockettes the night before.” He cleared his throat as literally everyone glared at him. “Bad joke.”
“This is bullshit.” Jamie scooped a hand through her hair and then tied it on top of her head with quick jerks of her wrists. “First, we have the hookup twins over there skating out early. Fine, whatever, fuck like rabbits, your business.”
I was still stuck on Cooper sneaking around to call Noah. Wasn’t that information I should’ve had? He’d never even mentioned it. We’d spent a beyond incredible day together yesterday, never mind today, and he hadn’t said a word.
I was just annoyed enough at being fretted over and protected again that I lifted my chin and met Jamie’s gaze. “It’s not anyone else’s concern unless we want it to be.”
Zane laughed. “Good luck there, sister.”
“Then there’s this Zane situation,” Lindsey said, effortlessly picking up where Jamie left off. “I’m not interested in who is swapping beds unless it’s a problem for the band.” She slanted me a cool look. “Thus far, it isn’t. But why weren’t we apprised of what Zane was dealing with? He mentioned having a record.”
Zane gazed down at his feet miserably. “Coop got me out.”
“And your manager is trying to help you, again way late and a dollar short. I don’t know who told any of you that you could behave as if this is any other time without any thought to the larger repercussions. Guess what? It isn’t.”
But Lindsey wasn’t done yet.
“Again, why weren’t we notified? I don’t like to pull rank here, since from the beginning, Brooklyn Dawn has been a collaborative effort. But Jamie and I started it. We were the ones there from the ground up. If things are happening that affect the band, we should be made aware. If not immediately, shortly thereafter. Not several days after the fact as part of a rant.”
“You think I’m ranting? Trust me, I haven’t even started, Ms. York.”
Lindsey took a long breath. “I get that there’s a lot going on. I’m not saying notifying us is the biggest issue right now. But it is important.”
“You have a point, and another time, I would agree with you. I do not right now. There are much larger concerns.”
“Right. Shut up, little women. Got it.” Jamie sat back and crossed her arms.
Lila’s brow arched. “Not sure if you’ve noticed my gender, but I’m just going to ignore your latest show of pique.”
Jamie’s jaw worked, but she was silent. For the first time probably ever.
“Let me spell this out for all of you, in graphic terms. Since general warnings don’t appear to hold any sway.” Lila looked at each of us in turn. “Teagan’s home nearly burned down. The next evening, her drink was spiked with enough chemicals to make a man Zane’s size act completely erratically and lose hours of the night. Imagine what could have happened if Teagan drank that drink. She’s half his size. She might have ended up in the hospital—or much worse.” Her voice softened as she glanced at me. “I’m not trying to scare you. Or any of you,” she said to the band. “But somehow you’re still failing to grasp the gravity of what’s happening right now.”
Lindsey wrapped her arm around me and pulled me into her side. “We won’t let her get away with this. Along with whomever else is involved.”
“I’m glad it was me,” Zane said quietly. “I’d rather deal with it than Teagan.”
My eyes dampened, and I rose to go around the table to him. He pulled me into a hug much as Lindsey had.
I held on tight. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s not your fault.” He kissed the top of my head. “It’s going to be okay.”
Swallowing hard, I crossed the aisle and went to Cooper. He seemed so solitary, standing alone by the window. So hard and stoic.
And no matter what he did, even if his heavy-handedness annoyed me at times, he always acted with me in mind. For my well-being. For my safety. Because I was more important to him than just about anything else.
He didn’t need to say those words. I knew it just gazing into those eyes I loved so much.
I stepped up to him and grabbed his belt, drawing him to me with a hard yank. “Next time you want to plot with someone to make sure I’m safe, clue me in first. Or at least right after. Like I did with my phone call. Got it?”
“Got it.” He searched my eyes. “I just want to make sure you’re protected. That’s all I care about.”
“I know. That’s why I’m not using a melon baller to render you sterile.”
He blinked. “That’s…specific.”
“Go Teagan,” Jamie said in the background, although I barely heard her.
I was too fixated on Cooper’s l
ips.
“So’s this.” I leaned up on my tiptoes and grabbed a handful of his T-shirt to drag him down to me.
Our mouths collided, hot, hungry, and wild. Every time, it was the same. That eager fumble of my hands to touch more of him, the urgent slide of his tongue, our bodies pressing close. As if our whole lives up to this point had just been going through the motions.
This was what we’d been waiting for.
Too slow? Nope.
Too fast? Nah.
We were exactly on time.
Distantly, I heard whoops and laughter and clapping explode behind us. I didn’t care in the slightest. I loved my band, but something was even more crucial.
Cooper was the center of my world.
Then.
Now.
Forever.
Twenty-One
“I don’t like it.”
“I don’t really care what you like right now.” I threw my purse into my bunk area.
Well, if you could call my sleeping quarters, which was half the size of my first apartment, a bunk. When we were stopped, our million-dollar bus needed a damn football field-sized parking spot.
Okay, so that was an exaggeration—ish.
I turned around and stabbed my finger into Cooper’s very hard, very large chest. “We’ve been over this. We’re trying to make things as normal as possible when it comes to this tour.”
We’d argued about this all night as we drove from New York to Philly. By the time we’d gotten the trucks all squared away and everyone situated on the bus with our belongings, it had been a long night drive.
Evidently, the hydraulics and shocks on this thing were also worth a million bucks because it barely felt like we were moving.
I’d slept like a damn baby.
Well, after Cooper had sneaked into my bunk and put me to sleep with his cock. There were worse ways to put a body into slumber.
Even when we were fighting, we still made up times three.
“Can’t anyone else do it? Hell, I can do it.”
“Really? You’re going to go in there with a bunch of fans and not start growling?”
“I take my turn.” He huffed out a breath. “Usually.”
I laughed and took his hand. “Why are you getting so bent about this? Noah is going to be right there with me.”
Cooper’s face went mutinous. “Don’t remind me that he’s going to be the one standing in.” He plucked at the ties of my dress. “How about I go with you?” He nudged the fabric off my shoulder before tracing the edge of my bra strap with his tongue.
“Oh, because we need this in all the online magazines?” I pulled my hair over my other shoulder to give him a little more access.
“What? Everyone loves a good romance.” His hazel eyes were dark with the passion that never seemed to lessen between us. He cupped my breast, coasting his thumb over my tight nipple.
“We have enough press.” I shoved my shirt back up and backed away from him. “I can’t think when you do that.”
He sat on the little leather cube I’d convinced him to bring upstairs for me. “That’s the point.” He rested his elbows on his thighs. “I know you think I’m being ridiculous.”
“No.” I moved between his legs and combed my fingers through his hair. “I know you’re just worried.”
He leaned forward a little more and rested the top of his head against my middle. “I am. With good reason. That’s a lot of variables we can’t control in there. What happens if someone tries to get to you?”
“Cooper.” I moved my hands to his shoulders and dug into his tense muscles. I’d never felt him so tight. “Please tell me what this is really about. I appreciate the whole overprotective lover thing—”
He groaned as I used my very strong hands to go deeper to loosen up all his knots. “You know we’re more than that.”
I raked my nails down his back, dragging up his white tank as I made my way back up. “Take this off.”
He looked up at me. “Now who’s trying to distract who?”
“You don’t want a back rub? Okay.”
“You drive a hard bargain.” He reached back between his shoulder blades and pulled the shirt the rest of the way off and tossed it on my bed. “Happy?”
Okay, maybe that hadn’t been the best idea. I had to be strong. God, he had a really nice body. So many muscles layered over other muscles and all of them under smooth, velvety skin.
I’d never been the kind of girl to lust over a guy. Sex, oh, yeah. I really enjoyed sex, but the whole objectification of a guy?
Nope. Not really my style. Until Cooper.
Then again, I pretty much wanted to lick him like an ice cream cone 24/7.
He sat up straighter, and all sorts of things popped and snapped in his back. Gee, stress? Not us. I moved behind him and used my thumbs to work out all the kinks. He groaned enough that I wasn’t sure the soundproofing would hold out. Or my panties.
Be strong, Teagan.
“There’s no deeper story, babe. If anything happened to you, pretty sure I’d end up in jail. Period.” I paused in my massage, and he pulled me around to stand in front of him once more. “Look, your ex was a bastard. I’m not him. It’s not about controlling you. I just worry.”
“Can we not bring him into this?”
“Pat.”
“I can say his name, thank you.” I cupped my hands around Cooper’s brick of a head. A fierce protector for days, that was my guy, but damn, was he stubborn.
He caught my hands and brought them down to rest on his chest. “I won’t pretend that all of this doesn’t freak me out. If that makes me look like a chump, I really couldn’t give a shit. You’re important to me. Family-level important.”
I curled my fingers around his. “I know. The same goes for me.” I loved him. I wanted to say it right now, but I didn’t want him to think I was trying to manipulate him.
Even if I wanted to blurt it out with every breath.
“So, you understand.” He hooked his arm around my waist and tugged me closer. “Now can we have sex?”
“Is that all you think of?”
“Pretty sure you said it was all you thought of. I thought we could try that tongue-looking thing. It freaks me out, but if I tuck it along the back of you and hold you down while you thrash around a bit, it’s a win.”
I swallowed hard. Panty alert. Again.
“Maybe when I get back.”
He gave me a narrow-eyed look. “Still not good enough.”
I cupped his face. “I know you have things in your past. I see the way you and Noah are around each other. There’s obviously a lot of history there.”
He stiffened and stood up. “You know I don’t like to talk about that stuff.”
“I know.” He was so tall and proud, his soldier-like bearing taking over. I could practically see the armor strapping all his emotions down.
I rested my fingers along his ribs where his muscles rippled, thanks to hours behind his drums and all the other workouts he did with Oz. Even Zane had gotten him into some yoga to help with his back.
Then I traced my finger along the silvery scar just beside his tattoo, moving to the heavy lettering with the faint gray dog tags behind it. I read the words aloud. “The trouble is, you think you have time.”
He caught my finger, bringing it up to his mouth. “Those words are true. And I forgot myself for a while. I wasted too much time being afraid to lose your friendship.” He kissed the middle of my palm. “Thinking friends was enough for me.” He laid my hand on his cheek. “Stupid. You’re everything. I just was too much of a coward.”
My eyes filled. Dammit, I wasn’t going to cry.
“Benny was my best friend. We went through basic together. Hell, he pushed me until I puked getting through the tests for Rangers because he knew how important it was to me. He was the sole reason I got through it. We were closer than brothers. And I lost him.”
“You had a dangerous job.”
“I did. And I l
ost a helluva lot of brothers in the field on missions. Benny didn’t die on a mission. He died because of a careless moment in training, and it should have been me.”
I shook my head. Just the thought of him dying made my blood chill and my skin prickle with goosebumps.
“He pushed me out of the way.” His voice was less than a whisper. “I watched him go down. I watched him bleed out in front of my eyes. There wasn’t even time for a medic or a hospital. Just his blood pumping between my fingers.”
“Cooper.” I went on my toes and wrapped myself around him.
No wonder he was so adamant about my safety. I’d taken so many chances without thinking about anything or anyone else.
He held me tighter, the breath whooshing out of me with his grip. “If anything happened to you…”
“Shh.” I used his shoulders to lift myself, and I wrapped my legs around him. “Nothing’s going to happen to me. I—”
“Don’t promise me. You can’t make that promise.”
“No.” I kissed him lightly. “No, but I can promise I won’t take any unnecessary chances.” I searched his wild, red-tinged eyes. “That I—”
His mouth crashed into mine.
I held on. Evidently, we were done talking. And I was all for it. Sweet and soft was a rarity in our life. Maybe it was the situation, maybe it was just us. I just wanted this to go on forever.
“Cooper, I have to… God, right there. How do you do that?”
He grinned against my neck as he boosted me against the wall. The bed was literally three turns to the left, but yeah, that wasn’t happening.
We fumbled with our clothes. We didn’t have much time, but as usual, we knew how to use our time wisely.
“Are you ready for me?” He jostled me enough to get his jeans unzipped.
“When aren’t I?” I groaned as he just pushed my underwear to the side and sunk into me.
“Fuck.” He snapped his hips against me. “Always so fucking wet for me. Only me.”
“Only you,” I agreed. I didn’t even have to lie. Cooper was the only man I’d ever found who could keep up with me and exceed expectations.
“So good.”
My nails bit into his shoulders. “More. God, please.”
