by Ali Parker
But I knew for a fact it wasn’t.
“Should we hang it up?” I asked.
Piper ran her thumb gently over the picture and nodded. “Yes, I suppose we should.”
I put a hand on her shoulder and rubbed her smooth skin with my thumb. “You can keep it, if you’d like. There are no rules against that.”
For a moment, I thought she might take me up on the offer. Then she shook her head. “No. One day, I’ll come back here, and I’ll come looking for this. Besides, it’s tradition, isn’t it? And good luck?”
“That’s what they say.”
“Then we should hang it. Where’s a good spot?”
“Right in the middle of the dance floor.” I gently pulled her out to the middle of the bar. She followed me, still wearing that gorgeous smile, and we stopped right smack in the middle of the floor, not caring that strangers were bumping into us as we danced.
I reached for an empty clip, and Piper handed me the picture. I pinched it in the clip and returned it to the wire, placing it just right so one of the lights shone on the image.
Piper was radiant under the twinkle lights above. She clasped her hands together and sighed contentedly. “Perfect.”
I took her hand and pulled her into me. She braced herself against my chest and gazed up at me as the singer of the band began singing a familiar Elton John tune. She had more freckles than she did when she first arrived in Nassau. They suited her.
Good old Bahamas. Everything was more beautiful here.
She leaned in and surprised me by resting her cheek on my shoulder. “Tonight is perfect, Coop. Thank you.”
I was overcome with the urge to kiss the top of her head, but that wasn’t something Cooper Diaz did.
Fuck no.
That was something boyfriends did—husband-material boyfriends, at least.
I wasn’t that guy. I simply wasn’t. I was the guy who fucked you out of your damn mind and slapped your ass and pulled your hair. And that wasn’t a bad thing. Girls needed that as much as they needed intimacy.
But I’d never craved the intimacy.
Until her.
Damn it. She was making me soft. I didn’t like that. I had a reputation to uphold. And every face in this place, minus the tourists, knew that reputation.
Did it matter?
She was going to be gone in six days. She’d be on her way into another man’s arms, and I’d be here, probably kicking myself for not following my impulses. Because that was my nature. It wasn’t about kissing her head or showing vulnerability. It was about following my desires.
That was who Cooper Diaz was.
So I dropped my head, closed my eyes, and pressed my lips to the top of her head.
She nuzzled closer to me. What a glorious feeling. I wrapped an arm around her back, felt the heat of her bare skin against my palm, and opened my eyes to rest my cheek on top of her head and sway gently back and forth to the song thrumming through the soles of my shoes.
Everything the Casanova Club had put me through was worth it for that moment.
Piper ran her hand across my chest and slipped it under the open buttons of my shirt. “My feet hurt.”
I arched an eyebrow at her.
She gave me a devious little smile. “I think we should go back to your place.”
“Do you, now?”
She nodded and pinched her bottom lip between her teeth. Either she’d figured out how hot and heavy that got me, or it was something she did without knowing. Either way, it drove me wild.
“I do,” she whispered, leaning in close. “But you’d better act fast. Before I change my mind.”
“We don’t want that,” I said.
We slipped off the dance floor. The music poured out behind us onto the beach. Piper kicked off her sandals and, like clockwork, raced to the ocean.
And even more predictably, I followed.
CHAPTER 21
PIPER
I was still riding the high of our chemistry on the dance floor and the sweet candid polaroid Cooper had snapped back at Bassau when my feet hit the ocean.
I spun back to him as he raced to join me, his hurried steps spraying saltwater up my legs and the skirt of my dress. He wrapped his arms around my waist and scooped me up, spinning me in a circle before setting me back down and brushing loose strands of hair back from my face. Then he held my cheeks in his hands and smiled down at me.
“You’re a wonder, Piper James. And I’m gonna miss the hell out of you when you leave.”
I grabbed the front of his shirt. “Don’t go spoiling the moment with soft sentiments, Coop. That’s not like you.” I silenced his laugh by pulling him down to me for a kiss. His hands left my cheeks, and he plunged his fingers into my hair at the nape of my neck to hold me to him.
Memories of our wild night came rushing back as his fingers tightened in my hair.
Yes. I need this.
His tongue in my mouth tasted like beer and salt. I draped my arms over his shoulders, and he hugged me around the waist. This embrace was new territory for us. It was vulnerable and intimate, and for a moment, I floundered in the newness of it all.
Then I felt his cock hardening against my belly and smiled.
“What?” he asked, breaking our kiss to look down at me. His eyes caught the reflection of the moon on the water at our feet. He was beautiful. There was simply no other word for it.
“We should take this back to the house before we let things go too far.”
“You don’t want me to fuck you right here on the sand?”
I hesitated.
Cooper laughed. “I’ve corrupted you, haven’t I?”
I tried to hide my blushing cheeks. “Maybe.”
He pulled me more firmly against him. “Victory is mine.”
“Just kiss me, you jackass.”
His chuckle brushed against my lips before we kissed again. I took him in and soaked in the pressure of his body upon mine and the water gently lapping at our ankles. My body filled with peace and hummed with desire. I wasn’t going to be able to last much longer before I asked him for more, and by that time, I wanted to be somewhere far away from prying eyes.
Cooper apparently wanted the same thing. “Let’s catch a cab home.”
I nodded and slipped my hand into his. Cooper and I abandoned the water in favor of the dry sand and made our way back up to Bassau, around the front, and out into the parking lot, where we waited for a taxi.
I thought, ignorantly, that we would spend the twenty-minute cab ride home chomping at the bit, aching to touch each other. But I thought wrong. Cooper wasn’t the sort of man who liked to wait.
He’d barely managed to tell the driver his address before he ran a hand up my thigh and under my skirt.
I muttered under my breath for him to wait.
“Give me a little taste,” he said, kissing my shoulder.
“Patience.”
“No.”
“It’ll be worth the wait,” I promised.
The driver minded his own business as Cooper leaned in close to graze his lips across the sensitive skin near my ear. “You bet your ass it will be. I’m going to get comfortable between those thighs of yours.”
I shuddered at his touch as he ran his fingers down my shoulder and across my collarbone. “Cooper,” I whispered sharply, desperate for him to stop and keep going all at once. A tight ache blossomed below my belly and threatened to spill over when he traced the neckline of my dress.
He chuckled softly. “You’re in big trouble, Piper.”
Yes, I was.
* * *
Cooper and I stumbled through his front door after the cab dropped us off. I struggled to slip out of my sandals, which were half full of sand, and Cooper tore his shirt off over his head.
He made his way up the stairs, and I followed close behind. As soon as we reached the top, he rounded on me, took me by the hips, and spun me to the side to push my back flat up against the wall. He pinned me there with his knee betw
een my thighs as he worked to undo his pants. He left them like that, half-flipped open, and then descended upon me to cover every inch of my bare skin with kisses.
I sank my fingers into his hair as he dropped to his knees.
Cooper ran his hands up the back of my legs and pushed my dress up to my hips. Then, like a man possessed by desire, he lifted my right leg and draped it over his shoulder so I could balance myself.
Everything unfolded so quickly. He grinned up at me as he tugged my panties to the side. “Hold your dress up.”
I did as I was told. Cooper’s tongue flicked over my clit.
I sucked in a sharp breath and pressed my head hard against the wall as quivers of pleasure raced through my veins. He hooked his arm under me and pulled my hips to him. I trusted him to keep me balanced and didn’t fight it as he held me tighter and moaned against my pussy.
He lapped at me until my knees threatened to buckle. Then slowly, he eased a finger inside me.
My eyes rolled back in my head. The combination was intoxicating. His tongue flicked and licked while he fucked me with his fingers, and then right when I thought I was going to come unhinged, he paused to draw my clit between his lips and suck hard.
I came apart at the seams.
“Cooper!” I cried out his name and clutched at his shoulder to stay on my feet. The muscles in my thighs sang under the strain of my orgasm, and my knees went out from under me. Cooper kept me on my feet and swept up to his. He scooped me up, spun us around, and marched through his bedroom door.
He dropped me on his bed and set to taking off his pants and boxers.
I hurried to pull my dress over my head, then struggled to take my bra off, which for some reason was caught on one of the clasps behind my back.
Cooper flipped me over and snapped my bra off for me. Then, with me still lying facedown on the bed, he yanked my panties down.
One of the straps snapped against my hip and tore.
Cooper chuckled and tossed them on the floor. “Our first casualty.” He climbed on top of me, pinning my legs under his, and grabbed my ass with both hands.
“They were my favorite,” I pouted.
He leaned over as I peered over my shoulder at him. “You can keep them to remember me by.”
I giggled and tried to turn over. Cooper wouldn’t let me. He ran one hand between my thighs and up, cupping my pussy, and then slid two fingers inside me.
I moaned into the bedding beneath me as he fucked me hard and fast. I could hear how wet I was getting and how breathless he was becoming, and the combination pushed me to the brink of another climax.
“Hold it,” he growled.
I couldn’t. It was too intense. Control was slipping through my fingers.
“Hold it,” he said again, this time pressing forward and bracing himself with his free hand planted on the bed beside my head. I reached up and grabbed his wrist.
“Please,” I whimpered. Every muscle in my body strained against the release. I fought hard, valiantly, but knew I was losing the battle.
Cooper’s soft chuckle filled the room. “All right, baby. Come for me.”
I came instantly.
Cooper’s chuckle turned into a groan as I came on his fingers. He gave my ass a hard slap before getting off of me and moving to his nightstand. “Stay where you are. I like your ass on display like that.”
I had no intention of moving. He watched me as I wiggled my ass in the air for him and lifted my hips off the bed. “Like this?”
“Don’t tease me, woman.”
“I’ll do whatever I damn well please,” I taunted.
He fetched a condom from the top drawer and came back to stand between my legs. I arched my back as he rolled the condom on, giving him a spectacular view, and he ran his hand between my thighs. “Stay like that,” he commanded.
I did.
Cooper leaned in. The bed creaked beneath us as he slid his cock inside me.
I gripped his sheets as he filled me up, and I held on to the cry that threatened to escape me. His size was overwhelming.
“Good girl,” Cooper said through clenched teeth.
There was something about his primal nature that set my blood on fire. I liked that he took charge, that he told me what to do, that he called the shots. And I liked that he knew how to handle his size to get the best results.
He was a selfless lover—that was for sure—and I was reaping the benefits.
He filled me up, and I took all of him. He waited a beat for my body to relax. Then he rewarded me with deep, slow thrusts. Each one pushed a moan from my lips I couldn’t contain. My grip on his sheets tightened, and I muffled my desperate sounds in the blanket and breathed in his scent.
Cooper quickened his pace and rocked against me. His thighs slapped against the backs of my legs, and he held my hips as he fucked me.
Then, right when I was about to lose it, he pulled out, flipped me onto my back, and pushed my legs apart. He dropped his hips once more and pressed into me. I had no blankets to muffle my cry this time. I moaned his name at the ceiling, and a grin stretched his handsome face.
“That’s it, baby. Say my fucking name.”
He dropped down and planted his hands on either side of my head. The angle allowed him to push in deeper, and I clutched at his forearms and held his gaze as he fucked me. Every sound I made had his smile broadening.
My toes curled and my back arched. It took everything I had not to scream out in euphoria and descend into sex-induced madness. I tightened my grip on his arms as he drove his cock deep inside me.
I broke.
Cooper dropped low to crush his lips to mine, soaking up the sounds of my climax. I couldn’t breathe and didn’t want to as he thrust wildly until his arms shook and his jaw clenched and a groan of pleasure escaped him.
The kiss softened when he was done, and I wanted nothing more than to stay in this safe place between him and his bed. The outside world was far away, and my brain was buzzing blissfully after the orgasms.
If I was lucky, he’d treat me to a couple more before we drifted off to sleep together.
Who was I kidding?
I’d get that lucky.
One round didn’t appease his needs.
Hell, neither did two.
CHAPTER 22
COOPER
I woke at sunrise.
Piper was still asleep beside me, tangled up in my sheets with her hair splayed all over the place, lips parted, eyes flitting back and forth behind her eyelids in dreams.
I smiled and watched her in the golden hour of the morning.
Our night at Bassau couldn’t have been better. It couldn’t have ended better, either. We were closing in on our final days together, and there was this growing apprehension in my gut. It was madness to feel such a thing, especially for me.
Perhaps it was because all of a sudden, it felt like there was so much unknown in my life.
Being with Piper had opened my eyes to the simple truth that I might not want to spend the next decade of my life partying and fucking and partying some more. Sure, for now, it was good, but later? After a few more years? I might want something more.
I might want a girl like Piper at my side.
Hell, I might even want a family.
I smiled to myself and rubbed at my eyes. How had one girl managed to turn everything on its head in such a short amount of time?
Before her, I’d been content with the idea that it was just going to be me for the rest of my life—well, me and whatever female companions I wanted to take to my bed on any given night. That was my idea of paradise and of a life well lived.
Now it felt… kind of lonely. Shallow.
I rolled onto my side to face her. Her hands were tucked under her pillow, and one knee was raised while her other leg was straight. The blanket was draped over her hip, but the rest of her was on display. I followed the gentle sloping curves of her body with my eyes and sighed.
I missed her already, and she was st
ill here with me. How fucking unfortunate.
Without thinking, I reached out and ran my fingers through her hair.
Piper’s eyes fluttered open, and I paused with my fingers all tangled up in her dark brown locks.
She smiled. “Good morning.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“It’s all right. This is a nice way to wake up.”
My heart constricted in my chest. I couldn’t agree more. This was a very nice way to wake up. “Did you sleep well?”
“Like a baby.” She stifled a yawn and rolled onto her back, where she reached her arms over her head and indulged in a full-body stretch. Her breasts swelled as she arched her back, and I found myself suddenly thirsty as I gazed upon them and the lean lines of her tummy.
She was a goddess made for early mornings like this when the sunlight was just right.
After her stretch, she rolled back to her side and pulled the blankets up to cover herself. A shame. Then she rubbed at her eyes. “How long have you been awake?”
“Not long. A few minutes.”
“What were you thinking about?” she asked.
I considered lying. But after how far we’d come, there didn’t seem to be much sense to that. “I was thinking about you having to leave soon and how different everything feels now.”
“Oh,” she said, a frown touching the corners of her mouth.
“It’s all right. I’m glad for it.”
She gave me a coy little smile. “Glad I’m leaving?”
“No,” I said hurriedly. “Glad to have had you at all.”
She giggled. “I was pulling your leg, Coop. I feel lucky to have had our month together, too. Honestly. It was a rough go in the beginning, but I don’t know. Everything came full circle in the end.” She propped herself up on her elbow. “For the record, I’m going to miss you too.”
“You’d better,” I teased. You won’t. You’ll forget about me as soon as the next man sweeps you off your feet. It’s better that way, anyway. “Are you looking forward to going home and seeing your family?”
