You’re Everything I Need: A Forbidden Romance

by Ford, Mia

  Dinner goes well. Better than I expected actually. The food isn’t half bad since I’ve never been the best cook and it really seems like Cooper enjoys it which is the main thing. He even ends up having another cheeky glass of wine which gives me a little glimmer of hope. He’s really letting loose tonight. Anything could happen…

  I get that impression even stronger when I walk Aubrey up the stairs to bed to read her a story and I turn back to see Cooper definitely checking me out. The hooded desire in his eyes sends a shiver down my spine and I can’t stop thinking about him; even as I read the story, he’s consuming me.

  I’m going to miss all of this when I’m gone, this little family routine. Thankfully, there hasn’t been any mention of me going home yet, not from either of us, but I suppose it will come. Half of me wonders if I should ask Cooper, but then I don’t want to give him the idea to send me away.

  “Right, sweetheart. It’s time for you to get some sleep.”

  “Night, Lexi.”

  I lean down and kiss her on the head, loving every inch of this girl. I’m actually upset that I missed the first two years of her life. How different things could have been.

  “Night, Aubrey. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  I wander back down the stairs with a smile playing on my lips, to find Cooper perched on the edge of the kitchen counter smiling at me like the cat who’s got the cream.

  “You look happy,” I comment idly. “It’s nice to see you smiling.”

  “Well, I came home to a nice treat, didn’t I?”

  “The dinner?”

  “The dinner, yes, that was definitely nice. But mostly you being happy.”

  “I have been a bit of a downer, haven’t I? I’m sorry about that.”

  “It’s okay. You’ve been through a horrible time. Do you want to talk about today?”

  I shake my head and grab my wine glass. “Not right now, no. Just know that it’s good.”

  I move between his legs, emboldened by the glee circling through me. He smiles down at me looking calm and relaxed. “It’s good, huh? Well, that’s awesome. I’m glad to see you like this.”

  He cups my cheek, touching me in a sweet way for the first time in a very long time. It’s so nice, I love the sensation of his skin against mine. It seems we can’t keep away from one another, no matter what happens. It just keeps getting stronger and stronger. Electricity buzzes all the way through my body and I feel myself melting. Again, I’m struck by how right this feels. It’s wrong, but it isn’t, all at once.

  “So, what now?” he asks me, with a smirk. “Where do we go from here?”

  He’s basically asking my permission and I like it a lot. “Ooh, I don’t know, but I have many, many ideas.”

  I run my hand lightly down his chest, caving into the sensation of him all over me once again.

  “Tell me,” he leans down and whispers into my ear. “I want to hear it all.”

  29

  Cooper

  With her hands all over me, my head spins. I can’t stop myself from caving in. I’ve been forcing myself to hold back anyway out of respect for her but if she wants me, then what am I supposed to do? With a smile on her face and that weight lifted from her shoulders she’s pure seduction. She’s sending me wild.

  “You want me to tell you?” she practically whispers to me. “Or you want me to show you?”

  I sink my hands into her hair and pull her face to mine. Our lips connect and the days of longing explode between us. I don’t know how we’ve managed to resist for so long. I lick and suck her tongue, a small groan flying out of my mouth as I do. She tastes so fucking good, it hasn’t ever been like this before. The desire is so intense, it pulls me in every fucking direction. I’m a mess, a puddle on the ground, and I like it.

  A primal urgency overtakes her and her nails dig into my skin. This pure desperation from her matches my mood exactly so I cling to her tightly, dragging her body right against mine. Her hands work all over my body. She can’t let go of me, she can’t keep her hands off of me, and I really fucking love it.

  She tears my tee shirt upwards, not quite reaching my head, so I help her by getting it all the way off, while she sinks her teeth into my skin. Her lips kiss me, her tongue laps all over me, her teeth nip at me. A guttural groan flies out of my mouth. My head flies back, I lose myself in the feel of her again.

  I don’t want this to end; why do we keep stopping this? Right now, I don’t understand it.

  She brushes her hand over my hard erection as she unbuckles my trousers, making me shudder violently.

  “I want to taste you,” she whispers to me. “That’s what I want to do. I want you in my mouth.”

  “Oh, fucking hell,” I growl back. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted that too.”

  She leans down and blows out a giant breath of air over my now-naked cock, which just gives me a little taste of what might be to come. She giggles, which only sends more air down my length, then presses her lips against me. She kisses right up and down me, brushing those electric lips of hers everywhere.

  “Fucking hell, Lexi, that feels…”

  She silences me by darting out her tongue and licking me. She drags her tongue all the way to my tip and concentrates herself on there for just a second before she wraps those lips of hers tightly, and she pushes me all the way as far as she can take me. I hit the back of her throat, opening it up wider for me, and she takes me in more. The fact that I can feel her getting pleasure out of this makes it so much better.

  I tug on her hair every time the pleasure gets too much, which is more often than not. She squeals, the sound vibrating all the way down me, making it far too intense. I can’t hack it, I’m about to fucking explode.

  “Fuck, Lexi, I can’t… I can’t do this, I’m going to lose it.”

  I tug her head away from me and slide down from the kitchen counter. I grab her and kiss her while rapidly lowering her to the floor. I need her on her back for what I’m about to do.

  “Ooh, Cooper,” she groans as I nudge her thighs apart. I press my palms to her legs and slide them all the way down. She arches her back, gasping in bliss as I grow nearer to her core. I can almost feel her pulsing from here, vibrating against me, pulsing, needing me, wanting me to touch her everywhere. “Oh, fuck.”

  I brush the cotton of her panties, loving teasing her for just a moment. I can’t play around for long, my soaking wet cock is twitching hard to be inside of her, but for a second, it’s nice to see her face contort in bliss.

  “Fucking hell, Cooper, don’t do this to me. I’ve waited for so long, I can’t wait any longer.”

  Those words affect me, I can’t resist them, so I grab onto her panties and I yank them away. I find her center rapidly, hot and ready for me. My heart races like crazy. I become a mad man on a mission. I need more, touching her isn’t enough, I need to taste her too. I lean my head in and hunt for her clit with my tongue. Once I find that and she shudders violently, proving that I’m driving her wild, more as the strokes increase.

  “Fuck, Cooper.” She wriggles to get away from me, but I know she doesn’t really want to. I know her well enough now to recognize that actually what she wants is more. She just can’t handle it, so I hold her in place, fixing my grip on her hips while I give her an onslaught of pleasure. My moves are relentless, I know it’ll be so much for her, but there’s one thing I love more than anything else, and it’s sending her insane.

  Her whimpers are adorable, her groans sexy as fuck, it’s honestly hard to keep myself in check. The more she buckles and writhes, the harder I become. My cock is screaming at me, begging me to just get on with it already but I can’t. I’m enjoying this taste of her too much. She’s gorgeous, delicious, too much.

  “Fuck, Cooper, you are sending me mental, I can’t… I can’t hack it…”

  Just as she’s about to tip over the edge, I whip my mouth away leaving her cold and alone. She moans like she’s in pain, but I simply smirk down at her while
I spread her legs further and I angle myself into her. She lifts her butt of the ground to meet me, digging her heels into the kitchen floor as much as she can.

  “Look at me,” I snap as her eyes fall closed. “I want to watch you.”

  She does as I command, her whole face contorting in pleasure as she does. It makes my insides go squishy, I can barely stand it. She’s so beautiful, so much. I don’t even see Nora in her anymore, she’s just herself.

  “Oh, Cooper.” Words burst free from her, dripping with sex. “Cooper, fuck.”

  I slam into her harder and faster, the hot bliss getting a bit too much for me. Our bodies echo through the room as the pace and the intensity explodes. The pleasure builds up, I feel it creeping from my toes all the way through my body, up to the base of my cock. The more that I look at Lexi, the more I lose myself. My head spins, I see fucking stars, my body heats up. I’m driving Lexi closer to the edge, and I absolutely love it.

  Maybe I love her.

  Thankfully, Lexi’s body tips over the edge at that moment, driving that one confusing thought from my brain. She contorts and buckles, her walls contracting around me, dragging the orgasm from me too. I want to keep going for a bit longer, I’m not ready for this to be over yet, but with Lexi’s gorgeous body I can’t control myself. The pleasure explodes from me, I completely lose myself in Lexi’s body, and it’s honestly the happiest moment of my life. I feel like I have her back, if only for a moment. I hold her close, prolonging it as much as possible.

  “You are going to kill me, Cooper,” she groans into my chest. “Why can’t I behave around you?”

  “I don’t want you to behave. Ever.” I rub my arm up and down her back. “Ever, ever.”

  “But what are we going to do?” She raises her eyes to meet mine. “We should make a decision.”

  “Okay.” I flop onto my back and lie next to her on the cold floor. “So, friends didn’t work out, ignoring one another didn’t work, keeping our hands off each other didn’t work, what else is there?”

  “We just… be together.”

  I bolt into a sitting position. “What do you mean? Be together? But we can’t be together.”

  “I know we can’t. You were married to Nora, it’s so complicated when it comes to my family, and you’re my boss. There are so many reasons why this can’t happen. But then again… why not?”

  “What are you saying? Don’t fuck with my head here,” I warn. “You can’t promise this if it isn’t going to happen. I don’t think you understand quite how much I want this to happen.”

  “You do? You really do?”

  “Of course I do. That’s all I’ve wanted since I first met you.”

  “But what about all the complications? What about all the reasons we shouldn’t?”

  “There are always reasons that we shouldn’t. What about why we should?”

  “Such as?”

  I smile, loving the way that she’s fishing for compliments. “Like that you’re beautiful, sweet, funny. Awesome to be around, and you’re also great with Aubrey. The fact that you seem to like me for me.”

  She sucks in a deep breath and nods. “Well, I like you because you’re strong and ambitious. You’re kind and caring, sweet as well. You have a tough exterior but a gooey inside.”

  “So, we’re really going to do this?”

  “It looks like it, doesn’t it?”

  “How are we going go about this then? How will we tell your family?”

  “I don’t know. I mean, it isn’t going to be easy, that’s for sure. I don’t know if they will accept it since they have already warned me away from you…”

  “They have?”

  “Yeah, but not because they don’t like you or anything, just because it’s complicated and they think it’s a bit fresh with Trent as well. They don’t seem to realize that I truly am done with him.”

  “And you are, right? There isn’t any chance you’ll go back to him?”

  “Not a chance in hell. Even if it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t go there.”

  “Well, that’s good news. I wouldn’t like to lose you now.” I scoop her up in my arms and stand with ease. “Come on then. Let’s go to bed, and you’re finally coming in my bed tonight, where I’ve wanted you from the start. It’s been absolute fucking torture with you in the other room.”

  She tosses her head back and laughs. “Yeah, it hasn’t been easy for me either.”

  I still kind of want to ask her what happened at the police station, but this isn’t the time or place. She doesn’t want to talk about it anyway and I don’t want to ruin the atmosphere between us. I’m having the best day.

  “So, does that mean you’re my girlfriend?”

  “Is that your way of asking me?”

  “No, of course not. Let me do a better job. Lexi, I adore you, you are awesome. Will you please be my girlfriend?”

  She smiles and nods. “You know what, yes, I think I will be your girlfriend.”

  I cheer and throw her onto the bed, throwing my hands above my head. Then I climb onto the bed and hover above her before I lean down and kiss her gently. The kiss is sweet and romantic, and I absolutely love it. There’s something more powerful between us now, an even deeper connection. I just hope it continues to grow and bloom. I really think I might love this woman, I won’t tell her yet but I do. I don’t want to pile the pressure on.

  “So, girlfriend,” I say with a smile. “What am I going to do with you now?”

  “I suppose that is up to you!”

  30

  Lexi

  “Hi, Flora,” I gush into my phone. “Oh, my goodness. It’s so good to hear from you! I have so much to tell you.” Like the fact that Cooper is probably unwisely my boyfriend. She’ll get it though. I know she will. Of all the people in the world I know my girls will be on my side. “Did Krysten tell you about meeting up?”

  “Erm, sure. Yeah, that’s why I’m ringing you.”

  “Are you okay, Flora? You sound a little strange.”

  “I’m… fine. Just looking forward to seeing you that’s all.”

  There’s something about her voice which has me worried. Luckily, I’m going to see her soon. She’s obviously called me for a reason. She’s more of a face-to-face girl anyway, I know that about her.

  “Okay, well what’s the plan? Did Krysten come up with an idea?”

  “Erm, yeah. I think you should come here. That’s the best plan.”

  “Right, sure. Okay, what time?”

  “Just as soon as you can.”

  I have a feeling that she wants to see me alone first so we can have a chat. I get that, Krysten can be a bit brash at times. Her advice is nice and well-needed, but sometimes it’s a bit much.

  “Okay sure, well I’m on my way now.”

  “Sure. Right, well I’ll see you soon. I’ll just get dressed and be over.”

  As I hang up the phone, I feel all weird and on edge. There’s definitely something going on with Flora which overshadows my happiness. I don’t like her being upset, she’s the most sensitive one out of all of us. If someone has hurt her I’m going to kick some serious ass. Someone will die.

  I stare in the mirror and run a brush through my hair, unable to drag the smile off my face. I’m in such a good place now, Cooper and I have finally found our place, and I love it. It’s awesome.

  “Did you speak to your friend?” He appears behind me and kisses my head. “Plans all sorted?”

  “Yes, I’m headed over there in a bit. Are you sure you don’t mind my having one more day off work?”

  “No, I don’t mind at all. You take as long as you need. Sally and I are coping just fine.”

  I feel bad. I should be back by now, I’m coping. I’m much better. The cops are after Trent.

  “I’ll be back tomorrow, I promise you. Tell Sally; I’m sure she’s desperate for me to return.”

  “Oh yeah, she’s cursing your name every day. She hates your guts.”

  I spin in the chair
and glare at him. “Don’t say that, I feel bad enough.”

  He grabs me around the back of the neck and pulls his mouth towards me. “I’m sorry, she’s fine. You don’t have to worry about anything. We’re coping just fine without you, but we do want you to come back.”

  I kiss him once more. “Well, I’ll be back tomorrow. Don’t you worry about that.”

  “Good, because for me, it honestly isn’t the same without you about the place.”

  “What would we do about us? Will we tell people or just share tortured glances across the office?”

  “We’ve done enough of the whole tortured glances thing for long enough. We should just tell people.”

  “It makes me nervous though. It scares me to think about it. They will all talk.”

  “They won’t be nasty. I’m sure everyone will be happy for us.”

  “You think? I don’t know - that freaks me out a bit.”

  “It freaks me out too, but we’re strong enough to survive anything, right? Plus, we’ve got something much worse to face. We need to tell your family. That’s going to be harder.”

  I groan and smack my palm against my forehead. “Don’t remind me about that.”

  “Alright, alright, let’s just enjoy this one day at a time, shall we? One problem at a time.”

  “Do you ever think there will come a time when all of this is just easy?”

  He kisses me once more. “There will. All of this will be a distant memory.”

  I sigh happily, loving that idea. It shatters and shakes through me, and cheers me up. “I can’t wait for that moment. All of the fighting will be more than worth it. We can just be happy then.”

  “Exactly. Right – well, I really better get going now. I don’t want to be late.”

  “No, of course not. You go and have a nice day.”