Handled: An Everyday Heroes World Novel (The Everyday Heroes World)

by Heather Slade

  I eased off the bed, wheeled my suitcase out, but didn’t see Cope anywhere. The apartment wasn’t that big and the bathroom door was open, so I knew he wasn’t in there. As odd as it was, I could only assume he’d left. I tore a piece of paper from the pad near the refrigerator and started to write him a note.

  What would I say? Hey, thanks for everything. You know, staying with me in the hospital, bringing me into your home, caring for me.

  I eased myself onto the stool by the bar and opened my laptop. I’d wait to leave until Cope came back, so I could thank him in person.

  Three hours later, I eased back off the stool I’d been sitting on for so long, I was stiff. Since Cope hadn’t bothered to tell me he was leaving, I didn’t bother either.

  “Who are you?” I asked the man perched outside the door of my apartment.

  “Name’s Buck, ma’am,” he said, holding his hand out to shake mine. “Can I help you with your bags?”

  “I’m good. Thanks.” I put my card in the reader, and he opened the door for me.

  “Who do you work for, Buck?” I asked over my shoulder, holding the door open with my leg.

  “I’m a private contractor, ma’am.”

  Not an answer, but obviously, he worked for the agency. “Is Buck your real name?”

  He shook his head. “No, ma’am.”

  “I’m going to ask you one more question, and this time, I want you to answer it.”

  He nodded his head once.

  “How old are you?”

  “I’m thirty, ma’am.”

  “That’s what I thought. I’m two years younger than you are, Buck, so I’d appreciate it if you stopped calling me ma’am.” I let the door close without waiting for a response.

  Once inside, I left my bags near the door and rummaged through my purse, looking for my pain pills. Stupidly, I hadn’t taken one earlier, figuring I would in a few minutes once I got over here. Instead, I’d sat in Cope’s apartment for three hours. My body ached, and all I wanted to do was lie down on the bed and sleep until the pain went away.

  I took two instead of the one recommended and went into the bedroom, feeling even more stupid when I found myself wishing Cope was with me.

  When I woke, it was dark outside. I gingerly rolled and eased myself off the mattress. Time for another pain pill, followed by more sleep. After deciding I’d better take only one this time, I finished the water I’d poured into a glass and walked as close to the windows as I was comfortable.

  From there, it didn’t appear there were any lights on in Cope’s place. I took two more cautious steps forward and peeked around the corner. The draperies were open, and the apartment looked completely dark. I was about to take a step backward when something near Cope’s window caught my eye. Light reflected off a glass held by the silhouette of a man as he raised it in my direction. Why was he sitting over there in the dark? Was he angry I left without so much as a thank you?

  I raised my hand but couldn’t see if the silhouette moved.

  After a couple of minutes, I went back into the bedroom where I’d left my phone and called him. When it only rang twice before going to voicemail, I pressed end without leaving a message.

  Fourteen

  Cope

  Ali didn’t owe me a damn thing, I decided while I sat on a bench outside the Civil War Museum. Whatever was bothering her was none of my business—even if she had lied to me.

  The minute I found out she was a reporter, I knew I had to stay away from her, but I’d ignored my own warning and got as close to her as I could.

  If she hadn’t been in an accident and broken her arm, she probably wouldn’t have been in my bed—where I’d almost sunk my cock into her wet heat. The fear that I’d hurt her had been the only thing stopping me from doing it, and my body still ached from that decision. Her lying, something that would normally be a deal breaker for me, hadn’t done anything to ease my raging desire to fuck her into next week.

  After ten minutes of forcing myself not to think about her, I was able to get up and walk to my rental car without the tent in my pants embarrassing me. I drove back to DC without feeling the slightest bit better than when I’d left.

  My cell vibrated at the same time the number of the caller flashed on the screen. I hit the call button on my steering wheel. “Cope,” I answered.

  “She just left,” said Rock.

  “Copy that.”

  A few minutes later, another call came in from a different number. “Hey, Cope, it’s Buck. Thalia’s landed.”

  “Copy that,” I muttered a second time before ending the call. Ali, or Thalia, as the team had begun referring to her at my request, was back at her apartment.

  I was surprised she’d waited so long to leave my place, but now that she was gone, I could go home.

  I didn’t bother turning on the lights when I walked into my loft. I had no desire to see its emptiness. I breathed in deeply; Ali’s scent still wafted in the air. Soon enough, it would be gone, but I doubted the memory of her body in my bed would fade as quickly.

  I poured myself a drink, ignoring the call coming in from my father, appreciating his concern, but like every other time he’d asked, there was nothing I could tell him. I powered the phone off, walked to the window, and looked over at Ali’s dark apartment, wishing that instead of sleeping there, she was still here.

  As I stood in the shadows, I saw the light come on and took a sip of the bourbon in my glass. When the light flickered, I took another step back. I held my breath, wondering if she would be brave enough to step closer to look for me.

  She stared openly, turning her head. I raised my glass. Windows and a few hundred feet separated us, and yet I could swear I heard her gasp when she caught the light’s reflection on the ice. She looked right at me and raised her hand. I took another drink.

  Did she know that from here I could see the outline of her body under her sheer robe? Was she aware I could see when she brought her thighs together, perhaps remembering how I’d kissed the inside of them?

  How I’d wanted to run my tongue up until I reached her panties, so wet with need. I took another sip, breathing in the bite of the bourbon when in my mind, it was her scent that lingered.

  She reached out for the brick of the wall and slowly took a step back. I stayed where I was, my glass empty, until the lights went out.

  I stretched my neck, looking up at the high ceiling of my apartment. I needed another fucking drink. Anything that would help me forget her ocean eyes.

  On my way to the kitchen, I reached over my shoulder, grabbed my shirt, and pulled it over my head, tossing it on the floor. After unfastening my belt, I pulled it through the loops and threw it against the wall.

  I shuddered, overcome by the memory of the way her breath had hitched when I brought my mouth to her nipple. I dropped three ice cubes into the glass and watched as they steamed when the amber liquid slid over their hard edges.

  I pulled at the buttons on my jeans, about to drop them where I stood, when I heard a knock at the door. “What the fuck?” I muttered and then remembered I’d turned my phone off. I had all but the top button refastened when I threw the door open without looking to see who was on the other side.

  “Um…hi.” Ali’s eyes traveled from my face down my body. When I saw Rock and Buck standing a few feet away, I pulled her into my dark apartment.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked, fumbling for the light switch.

  “Leave it off,” she whispered, resting her right hand on the waist of my jeans.

  “Ali—” I groaned when her fingertips slipped inside the open v of my jeans.

  “I’m sorry,” she murmured.

  I put my hand on hers, stopping her fingers from going any lower. “What for?”

  “Leaving…” I felt her lips on my sternum. “Without thanking you.”

  I reached for the switch and flicked it on, flooding the space with bright light.

  Ali took a step back and lowered her gaze to the floo
r. “I saw you…were back.”

  “I’m sorry I left.”

  She looked into my eyes. “Why did you?”

  Why had I? Because I couldn’t stand the thought of her leaving and being in my apartment without her any more than I could stand that she’d lied to me.

  “Cope?” she whispered.

  I shook my head, laughed, and took a step closer to her. “You’re going to think I’ve lost my mind,” I mumbled, angling my head and leaning down so my lips were close enough to touch hers.

  “Tell me.”

  “I hated the idea…”

  Her breath hitched just like it had when I circled her nipple with my tongue, and I kissed her. Bracing my body so I didn’t lean into hers, I held her face with my other hand and kissed her harder. I stopped and rested my forehead against hers. “I’m so afraid I’m going to hurt you.”

  She tried to turn her head away. “I shouldn’t have come back.”

  “Is that what I said?”

  “No, but…”

  “I didn’t want you to leave in the first place.”

  “It seemed like you did.”

  “Come on,” I said, taking her hand and leading her farther inside. I stopped when I reached the hallway, and Ali dropped my hand.

  “Do you want to have a seat?” I motioned with my head to the sofa.

  She shook her head.

  “In there?” I asked, motioning to the bedroom.

  “Please.”

  She wore my sweatshirt that was three sizes too big for her. I stood behind her and grasped the hem, slowly bringing it up. She slipped her right arm out of it, and I pulled it over her head. She wiggled her left arm until the garment fell to the floor. I reached around her body and covered her breasts with both of my hands. I kissed her neck, her shoulder, the side of her face. “Get on the bed, Ali.”

  She turned around and used the fingers of one hand to pull off her yoga pants and the black lace panties that matched the bra I’d told her not to wear earlier. I picked them up, needing to know how wet they were.

  Ali took my other hand and brought it between her legs. I dragged my finger through her folds. “You still aren’t on the bed, baby.”

  She scooted back, sat, and spread her legs. I went on my knees between them and buried my face in her pussy. When she fell back on the bed, I reached up with both my hands and pinched her nipples as I tortured her clit with the tip of my tongue. I peeked up at the woman writhing on my bed and looking down at me.

  “Cope,” she whispered. “Please.”

  “Please what, Ali? Tell me what you need.”

  “Fuck me.”

  I stood, pulled open the buttons on my jeans, and let them drop to the floor. “Put your legs around my waist.” When she did, I raised her torso and rested my cock against her entrance. “If I do anything to hurt you…”

  She smiled and bucked her hips. I pushed into her and stopped.

  When she groaned my name, I thrust a little deeper. I kept my hands on her body and moved her hips against me.

  Ali’s head rocked from side to side, and she threw her arms above it. I saw what she was about to do, but not in time to stop her.

  “Ouch,” she groaned when she hit herself in the head with her cast. I held her still, my cock pulsing inside her, wondering if the moment was ruined. “Sexiest thing ever, right?” she said with a grin.

  I took a deep breath, pulling her hips toward me while my eyes trailed her body. “There’s no one sexier, Ali,” I murmured, wishing I could take her hard, but still so afraid of hurting her. Just the idea that I was inside her warm wetness nearly had me ready to lose it. Instead, I focused on her, spreading her open with my fingers so I could pinch her clit while I eased in and out.

  “Oh, God,” she groaned, trying to move against me, but I kept her still with the hand still on her hip.

  “Not so fast, baby.”

  “I need it fast,” she whined. “Fast and hard.”

  “We’ll get there.” I rolled my hips and pulled out, falling again to my knees. Pinching her clit between two fingers, I thrust two from my other hand into her warm channel and curled them toward me. “Come on, baby. Let me see how you look when you fall apart.” Moments later, she cried out, her head thrashing from side to side. I looked down at my unsheathed cock, realizing how close I’d been to coming inside her.

  “Get all the way up on the bed, baby,” I said, gingerly helping her move.

  “Cope?” she called out when I walked into the bathroom.

  “Almost forgot this,” I said, holding up a foil packet when I came back to lie beside her.

  Ali’s eyes were wide as I rolled the condom on my length. I grabbed a pillow, put it under her hips, and spread her legs open. I eased back into her and held her hips like I had before.

  “I want you to be still. Lie there and take all the pleasure I have to give you.”

  Ali groaned and arched her neck when I thrust into her again and again.

  “Look at me,” I demanded when I knew I wouldn’t last any longer. I came, staring into Ali’s ocean eyes, wondering if she had any idea how much she’d come to mean to me in such a short amount of time.

  Fifteen

  Ali

  I was sore. So sore. Every inch of my body ached when I opened my eyes and saw the sun was shining. It was dawn when we finally gave in to sleep.

  Cope had rolled me to my side and nestled my back to his front. “Sleep, baby,” he’d murmured.

  I eased from the bed and pulled his sweatshirt over my head, not bothering to try to get my left arm into the sleeve. Since it came down to my knees, I didn’t bother with panties either.

  After using the restroom, I walked down the hallway to the kitchen, realizing almost too late that Cope, who’d told me he had to go into the office today, would be gone by now and his mother would be here in his place. Instead, the apartment appeared empty.

  “Hello?” I called out, but got no answer. I saw what looked like a note propped up against the espresso machine.

  Good morning, baby. When you read this, first send me a photo of your beautiful face. Second, call the café, and Lindsey will bring you coffee and breakfast.

  I mussed my hair and let it drape over one side of my face, bit my bottom lip, and sent it to Cope before I could talk myself out of it. I’d just set my phone on the counter when it vibrated with a one-word response. Fuck. I laughed and turned on the espresso maker. I’d figured out the one in my apartment; I was sure I could figure out this one too.

  I sat on a stool and was about to look for an instructional video when I heard the front door lock click.

  “Ali, good morning,” said Cope’s mother, walking in, followed by Buck, carrying bags of groceries. “I’m sorry I’m so late. I had to stop by the market and pick up a few things. Sumner doesn’t keep much food in the apartment.”

  “I’ll be back,” said Buck after setting the bags on the counter. I bit my tongue from asking if there were more groceries. A few minutes later, he came back, carrying several more bags.

  “Is there more?” I mouthed when Mrs. Copeland turned her back.

  Buck shook his head. “Is there anything else, ma’am?” he asked, pointing to Cope’s mom. I chuckled, remembering how I’d asked him to stop calling me ma’am.

  I got the impression that Buck, with his scruffy beard and dancing eyes filled with a spark of mischief, would be a lot of fun to hang out with. He was way more my speed than the buttoned-up Sumner. But damn, if that man hadn’t gotten under my skin and into my panties.

  When Mrs. Copeland finally told Buck “that would be all,” he tipped his hat and walked out.

  “I didn’t realize they let agents wear cowboy hats to work these days,” she muttered under her breath.

  “I feel like this has been a big inconvenience for you for nothing.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I told Cope, err, Sumner, that I’d be going back to my apartment this morning. I’m sorry for our lack of
communication.”

  I saw her son’s face in how she studied me. They had the same green eyes. “I’m surprised he didn’t mention it to me.”

  “As I said, I apologize—”

  She took out her phone, tapped the screen, and brought it to her ear. She drummed her fingernails on the counter and then tapped the screen again. “You don’t mind waiting until my son responds, do you?”

  Of course I fucking mind waiting until your son responds, I shouted inside my head. “With all due respect, Mrs. Copeland—”

  “Call me Laurel.”

  “With all due respect, Laurel, I do mind. It was kind of your son to offer to let me stay here, but it isn’t necessary I do so any longer. I appreciate all you’ve done for me as well.”

  It occurred to me that in order for me to have a dramatic exit, I was going to have to climb off this stool, go into the bedroom, put my pants—and panties—on, and leave. Laurel would likely ask if I needed help with my bag, at which point I’d have to tell her it was already at my apartment. Gawd.

  “You know what? Instead, I think I’ll just go take a pain pill and lie down. You wouldn’t mind, would you, Laurel?”

  “Of course I wouldn’t, dear. Make yourself right at home.”

  I smiled and slid off the stool, wishing she’d turn around so I could do my walk of shame back to Cope’s bedroom without her witnessing it. Instead, I could feel her eyes on me every damn step of the way.

  I was lying on the bed, bored out of my mind, cursing myself for not having the balls to just leave, when my cell rang.

  “Hey,” I answered.

  “I have two things to say and am not sure how much longer I’ll be alone. So here goes: first, that photo you sent—Jesus—you looked hot. I’ve never wanted to own a helicopter more in my life.”

  “A helicopter?”

  “So I don’t have to endure the painful drive back to you while trying to stop myself from looking at it again.”

  I giggled. “What was the second thing?”