Throb

by Vi Keeland

  Five minutes later, I guzzle a glass of juice and unbuckle with frustration, my body bringing me to where my mind already is.

  The door creaks as I slip inside. It’s pitch black and quiet, the only sound the rhythmic deep inhales and exhales of Kate’s breath. I remove my shoes and make my way to the bed in the darkness, lifting the covers and easing in beside her.

  “Took you long enough,” she whispers, catching me off guard with the sound of her voice. I thought she was sleeping.

  “Sometimes I just can’t get out of my own way.” I reach out for her, hand falling on her hip in the absolute darkness. My hand meets skin, not shirt or pants. So I slide my hand gently up until I reach her ribs, then back down to her thigh. Skin.

  “You’re naked.”

  “I am.”

  “You knew I’d come in after you.”

  “Maybe. Maybe I always sleep naked.”

  “Do you?”

  “Not usually.”

  I chuckle, feeling a bit of relief. “I’m sorry for being an ass. I just find myself feeling … frustrated by things between us sometimes.”

  “I know,” she whispers softly. Then her hand reaches up to my face, her fingers feeling the ridges of my jaw, my nose, my eyes. “That’s why I’m naked. Thought maybe it would help you alleviate some of that frustration I saw in your face.”

  “It might take a while.” I take her hand on my face and pull it down to my mouth to kiss each finger. “I’m really frustrated.” I add and surprise her by hauling her from next to me to on top of me. She giggles and my frustration starts to ebb already.

  “I’m dedicated to the cause. I’m willing to work hard.” Hard pretty much describes me just from having her naked body near mine.

  The captain announces we have twenty minutes until landing. I hate to wake her. She looks so peaceful and I took an hour and a half of her nap for other things before she fell asleep. I clean up and brush my teeth in the small en suite bathroom and she wakes when I climb back into bed.

  “Good nap?” I say before gently kissing her lips.

  “You smell good.” She snuggles up against me, pressing her warm sexy body to my already clothed one.

  “It’s time to get up. We’re going to land soon.”

  She stretches and pouts. “But I’m so comfy.”

  I swat her ass. “You can be comfy for almost a week in my bed. In fact, I intend to spend an inordinate amount of time in my bed, making you comfy. But right now you need to get up and get dressed so we can land.”

  Begrudgingly she gets up. She walks her naked self to the bathroom. “Ummm. Cooper.”

  “Yes.”

  “Is this a, a… . hickey?”

  “Where?” I pretend not to know what she’s talking about as I walk up behind her in the bathroom and our gaze meets in the mirror.

  “Right here.” She points to her right breast, where there’s an unmistakable bright red mark.

  “Hmmm.” I cup her breast from behind. “It might be. I guess I didn’t realize how much frustration I had to let go of.”

  “Hmm … mmm.” She eyes me suspiciously.

  “I’m glad it’s there though. Because this week, you’re all mine and we don’t have to worry about any cameras catching you since no one knows where we are.”

  chapter twenty-nine

  Kate

  I’m not sure if it was the sex or the nap, or maybe even the Caribbean sunshine warming us as we step onto the tarmac in Barbados, but Cooper’s a different man than the one I boarded the plane with.

  “What do you want to do first?” he asks as he laces our fingers together. It feels odd to walk in public with him like this. We’ve basically been in hiding since we met.

  “Hmmm … what are my choices?”

  “We could have sex in the yard, by the pool. Or at the beach. The master bedroom has a Jacuzzi if you prefer that.”

  “Do all my choices include sex?”

  “They all begin and end with sex. How you’d like to fill the hours in between, I’m happy to oblige whatever suits your fancy.”

  “How very generous of you, Mr. Montgomery.”

  “I thought so.” He kisses my lips and gives me a carefree smile that makes him look younger than his years. His face is relaxed. It’s a look I haven’t seen in a while and he wears it well.

  A uniformed officer comes to meet us as we reach the building and does a quick check and stamps our passports. “What about our bags?” I ask as we enter the airport terminal.

  “They’ll be brought to the car that we’ll meet out front of baggage claim. It’s a small airport, so there isn’t a special area for private planes. We’ve already cleared customs, so we can just walk through the airport and exit where everyone else does.”

  The airport is busy, but Cooper navigates us through swiftly. As we walk through the baggage claim area, I spot a uniformed man holding a sign that reads Montgomery.

  “I guess that’s us?” I say, but Cooper doesn’t hear me. He’s preoccupied looking off in another direction.

  “Cooper?” He still doesn’t respond, so I trace his line of sight. I don’t see anything unusual. Mostly it’s just a group of tourists in Hawaiian shirts and straw hats anxious to get their luggage. Then I notice a man in the group who stands out. He’s grabbing a bag from the conveyor belt, but that’s not what makes him different. Dressed in a long-sleeved shirt and pants—head to toe in black, his bald head is the only thing that shines from his otherwise dark façade.

  “Cooper?” I call again. “Do you see someone you know?”

  “Hmm?” He turns to me, having heard my voice, but still not hearing my words.

  “I asked if you saw someone you knew. You seemed distracted.”

  “Actually … give me a minute, I’ll be right back.” He deposits me next to the man holding the Montgomery sign and takes off in the direction of the baggage claim he was staring at. The man I thought he was looking at is already gone, but I watch as Cooper surveys the surrounding area.

  “Everything okay?” I ask wearily when he returns.

  “Fine,” he responds and we walk to the waiting limousine. “I thought I saw someone I knew, but my mind must be playing tricks on me since you robbed me from the nap I was planning on taking.” He kisses me chastely, then waves off the driver so he can open the door for me himself.

  A woman is waiting at the top of the driveway when we pull up to the house—if you would call where we arrive at a house. Mansion, estate, perhaps just paradise might most deftly describe the vision that looms in front of me.

  Up until now, everything about Cooper Montgomery seemed to match the man—a sleek penthouse suite, expensive-yet-old classic car. His assets are clearly luxurious, yet they have an understated quality about them. Like he doesn’t need to show off the grandness to appreciate its value. But this—there is no mistaking the brazen grandeur of this home.

  Flooded in white except for the massive dark-wood double front doors, the home stretches out far and wide amid lush tropical plantings.

  “Welcome home, Mr. Montgomery, Ms. Monroe. Sugar Rose is ready for your arrival.” The woman greets us with a thick island accent and broad smile.

  “Thank you, Marguerite. It’s good to see you.” I hear Cooper have a short conversation with the woman, but I’m too busy looking around in awe to pay much attention.

  “You like it?”

  “It’s stunning. I can’t believe how big it is.”

  “That’s not the first time I’ve heard you say that,” he leans downs and whispers to me as we walk to the entrance with Marguerite in tow.

  I shake my head. Before me is the man I first met—smiling, playful and full of himself. It’s nice to have him back.

  As Cooper talks to Marguerite, I walk slowly through the spacious home. The massive two-story living room is framed with a wall of glass that leads out to an equally impressive manicured yard. An oversized infinity pool makes it difficult to tell where the yard ends and the ocean beyon
d it begins.

  A warm ocean breeze blows on my skin as I walk outside, bringing the smell and taste of the ocean to my lips.

  “What do you think?” Cooper comes up behind me and wraps his arms around my waist.

  “It’s paradise.”

  He kisses my shoulder. “I’m glad you like it.”

  “It’s amazing. Although it’s not what I expected.”

  “Is that good or bad?” His lips at the nape of my neck vibrate against the skin.

  “Actually, I don’t think it’s either. It’s beautiful. It just doesn’t seem like your style.”

  “It’s not. My father built it for my mother.” He kisses his way up to my ear. “Sugar Rose. My mother was Rose, but my father called her Sugar.”

  “That’s so sweet.”

  “Inside or outside?” he asks.

  “What I like better?”

  “No, where you want me to fuck you first.”

  “No beating around the bush with you, is there?”

  “Not when it comes to you, love.” His hand tugs at my skirt to lift it. I’m lightheaded from the feel of him hardening against me from behind, but it’s the way he just called me love that makes my knees weak.

  “What about Marguerite?”

  “Gone. No one for miles except for me and you.”

  I turn and face him. He wastes no time in taking my mouth. There’s a hunger in his kiss that would never reveal he’d just been inside me only a few hours ago on the plane.

  “Pool,” I whisper against his lips when we break for air. At first his brows dip, but then he realizes what I’m saying. “The edge, where it looks out to the ocean.”

  I take his hand and begin to lead him in that direction. But he scoops me up off my feet and carries me instead. I love that he gives me choices, but then takes control back almost immediately. It’s like he wants to please me, but he needs to do it in his own way.

  He stops to undress us both before walking into the pool with me in his arms. Reaching the edge, he sets me on my feet and spreads my arms wide along the tile hidden just below the surface. His erection pushes against my back as he moves closer. “You should probably hold on,” he says in a raspy voice. “I want to fuck you deep.”

  A shiver runs through me even though the water is warm and the sun beating down on my exposed body is even warmer. I barely have time to set my grip when Cooper drives deep inside of me. He was right, I need to hold on, the weightlessness of my body in the water makes it easy for him to maneuver me, but the tile is still hard along the walls of the pool.

  “Kate,” he groans, pulling out and then slamming back into me. A whimper escapes me and he lifts me up slightly, giving him an angle that allows him to pull me down on him even deeper. He lifts me and pulls me back down onto him to meet each thrust. The way he uses my body to feed his makes me feel empowered, even though he’s clearly the one in physical control. I love that I bring such raw, unrestrained desire from a man who seems to keep everything else in his life so meticulously organized.

  His fingers move to my swollen clit as the speed of his thrusts intensifies. I can tell he’s close, racing to bring me to climax with him, as he relentlessly drives into me over and over. He groans my name again and his teeth sink into my shoulder. A wail of a moan shakes the air, leading my climax as it rushes from my body. I cry out as it takes me under, my moans echoing even though there are no walls to catch them.

  Hours later, even after a much-needed nap, I’m still withered and unable to move. Cooper, on the other hand, walks around like he just started the day fresh, rather than having traveled six hours on the plane, and twice led our bodies to energy-draining climaxes after heavy cardio-induced sexual escapes.

  I pull the sheet over my head when he walks to where I’m sleeping on the big comfy couch.

  “You know I saw you were awake already, right?” I know he’s smiling even though I can’t see his face.

  “I’m still sleeping,” I groan.

  “You haven’t eaten anything today.” He pulls down the sheet. “You’re probably tired from lack of vitamin B and zero calorie consumption.”

  My stomach growls on cue.

  “See, I told you. You need to eat to get your energy up. I have lots of plans, so you need to put some fuel in the tank.” He pulls the sheet the rest of the way off of me and smacks my bare ass.

  “What plans? I thought we didn’t have plans to go anywhere.”

  “We don’t. But I told you I plan to have you in a few dozen places around the property.”

  “Fiend.”

  Cooper’s lip twitches in response. Then he scoops me up in his arms and heads toward the bathroom. “Shower. Then I’ll take you out for something to eat.”

  He sets me down on the bathroom vanity so he can regulate the shower water temperature. “Although I do love the just-fucked look on you. You wear it so well.” He kisses my lips and runs his fingers through my hair. “But I am looking forward to taking you out in public tonight. Showing the world you belong to me. Even if none of the people here know who we are.”

  Bay Street at night is a world away from the quiet seclusion of Sugar Rose. I’m quickly distracted as we weave our way through throngs of people inside and cross over to the beach extravaganza going on outside. Although I love to dance, clubbing was never my thing. When I lived at home, most of my free time was spent helping out with Kyle or studying. I occasionally went to clubs with Sadie after we first moved in together, but I wasn’t a regular anywhere by any means.

  We approach a bar on the back deck, the level before the sand, which is crammed with people. “What do you want to drink?”

  I shrug. Not being a big drinker, wine is usually my thing, it’s simple to order and it avoids a concoction whose taste is subjective based upon the mood of the bartender. But this isn’t the kind of place that you order wine. “I’ll have something with an umbrella in it.”

  Cooper smiles and yells our orders to the bartender. He hands me a large red drink with not one, but two colorful umbrellas and holds up his small glass filled with amber liquid.

  “To showing off my woman in public,” he says, clinking his drink to mine then tipping his head back.

  Watching his throat work as he swallows, for a minute I wish we had stayed in. My fruity drink goes down smoothly, the effects heightening the blissful state I’m already in. “I love that smile.” Cooper runs his finger along my bottom lip. “Your smile is always beautiful, but when you let yourself go and really relax, it’s the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen.”

  I didn’t realize there was a difference on the outside, but he’s right on how I feel inside. The last five years have been tough, the past two even more so. I’m happy, although it’s always tempered with something else—a weight that keeps me grounded. The happy that Cooper makes me feel is like floating. I don’t know how he does it, but when I’m with him, it’s okay to let it all go.

  “Do you dance?” I ask, wrapping my hands around his neck. The music changes from island steel drum to something slow and sultry with a heavy rhythm that pulses through the crowd.

  He pulls me flush against him, sliding a knee between mine, and begins to sway to the music. Of course the man can dance, I should have known from the way he moves his body in bed.

  We dance close, his arms wrapped possessively around me, holding me tight for three or four songs. Eventually he pulls back to meet my eyes. “I want this all the time. Dance with you, have you on my arm at events, that carefree smile on your face. I didn’t even realize it was what I was missing, until I found you. I want this. I need this.”

  “Me too.” Our eyes meet. I’ve never wanted anything more in my life. “Soon. I promise.”

  chapter thirty

  Cooper

  The bed has always been a place for two things—sleeping and fucking. If I wasn’t actively doing one or the other, I saw no purpose in wasting time lying around. Yet waking with Kate’s head nestled into my shoulder, listening to the s
ound of her rhythmic, peaceful breathing leaves me content to stay put the entire day.

  She stirs for a while in her sleep before her eyes eventually flutter open. “Morning,” she says with a lopsided smile when she finds me already awake.

  “Morning.” I smile and kiss her forehead. “Blanket hog.”

  Her sleepy eyes go wide. “I am not a …” She begins to defend herself and then looks down. Both the sheet and duvet are wrapped around her body like she just lost a battle with a white boa constrictor. I, on the other hand, am completely exposed. “Sorry.”

  “It’s alright.” I pull her body on top of mine. “I’ll use you as a blanket.”

  She giggles and the sound makes me smile. Shit. I’ve gone soft.

  “What do you want to do today?” Kate props her head up in her hands.

  “You.”

  “You’ve already done that a half dozen times. Don’t you want to do something else? I don’t want you to get bored.”

  “Bored of being inside of you? Never.”

  She smiles. “Okay. Well how should we fill the hours between you inside of me this morning and you inside of me later tonight?”

  I brush my fingers along her cheek. Something about hearing her say you inside of me, already has my morning semi erection swelling to a full-blown hard on. “However you want.”

  She rests her head over my heart. “You said you came here all the time growing up, right?”

  “Twice a year.”

  “Well what was your favorite thing to do back then?”

  I think for a moment. “An afternoon trip on the Jolly Roger. It was a big party boat done up like a pirate’s ship. It sailed out into clear water and Miles and I would swing on a rope and jump off. We’d make each other walk the plank, and snorkel with turtles. It was owned by Marguerite’s family. My Dad would sit on the top dock drinking beer with her uncle while we played for hours.”