It was Abby.
Her eyes went wide, and need and heat seeped in as her gaze slowly swept him from head to toe and back. She cleared her throat. “Hi.”
He smiled. He couldn’t help it. She was adorable in a pair of gray sweats and matching sweatshirt—a size too big—her hair in a ponytail, and color rising in her cheeks.
“Hi, Abby. Come in.” It took all the restraint Cooper could muster not to act on the desire heating her gaze. Backing up to let her inside, he motioned for her to walk ahead of him.
Damn…he needed to get a grip on his control.
Fast.
He found himself leaning in to inhale her sweet, flowery scent as she walked further into his open living room-kitchen combo. His dick stirred, and he swallowed a groan.
Why the hell did he keep doing that?
The one bedroom cottage was small, but normally he found it spacious enough to have the guys over. None of his buddies were small, and yet it was weird how his place suddenly felt cramped—intimate—with this beautiful, delicate woman inside.
She stopped and turned to face him, her gaze eating him up from a few feet away. “Aren’t you cold?” Her voice had a sexy, low rasp he felt to his very tip of his thickening erection.
No, he was very hot…and in trouble.
“You caught me just getting out of the shower,” he said. “I was getting ready to come see you.”
Her eyes widened. “You were?”
The warmth in her expression somehow made him feel vulnerable. He absently scratched his arm. “Yeah. Hang on, I’ll be right back.” He stepped back into the bathroom to pull on the clean shirt he’d left in there. “Okay,” he said, returning to the living room.
Her sigh sounded forlorn, while relief funneled into her gaze. “That’s better. You were so hot I could barely breathe.” She slapped a hand over her mouth and promptly blushed. “Sorry, it slipped out. Darn thought was supposed to stay in my head.”
He chuckled. God, she was adorable.
“Anyhow, here.” She stepped close and held out his phone.
“Thanks. Great. That’s why I was coming to see you.” He took it and glanced at his screen. Two texts. One from Dean and another from Rylee. Five missed calls. Four from Rylee. One from Carter.
Shit.
One thing at a time. He had enough to deal with. “Where’d you find it?”
“Sticking out from under the corner of my bed,” she replied. “I didn’t notice until I sat down to tie my sneakers just now. Sorry.”
He frowned. “It’s not your fault. Must’ve fallen out of my jeans when I…when they were on the floor,” he said, shoving the phone into his pocket, trying to keep the memories at bay of why his clothes had been on her floor. He scratched the bridge of his nose with his thumb. “Thanks for bringing it over.”
She smiled. “No problem.”
He nodded, indecision eating his gut. Time for their talk. He just hoped he phrased it correctly. “Abby, look, I know we didn’t talk about it, but I’m pretty sure we’re both on the same page.”
She lifted her chin. “Which page is that?”
“The one that says we can’t have a repeat of last night,” he replied, bracing himself for the pain he was sure to see in her eyes. “Or this morning.”
“Ah…that one.” The pain was there but so was understanding. “Because of Carter.”
He ran a hand through his hair then blew out a breath. “Even though your brother and I are no longer active duty, I still feel honor-bound to uphold our code.” He softened his gaze and stepped closer to skim a knuckle down her cheek. The faint smell of flowers hit him again, and some unknown emotion fluttered through his chest. He ignored it. “I’m sorry. Last night and this morning, they were amazing. But…it’s my fault we’re in this situation.” He removed his touch and stepped back.
“Uh, no you don’t.” She shook her head. “I was a willing participant. Very willing, if you remember.”
Heat flashed through him and he nodded. “I remember. Believe me.”
He was never going to forget.
“Good.” A grin tugged her lips. “I want you to remember it, because I always will.” Her gaze turned serious. “I’m sorry, too, Cooper.”
He jerked his head back and narrowed his eyes. “What for?”
“Forcing you to compromise yourself,” she replied. “I knew heading into last night that I was asking you to go against your moral compass. I feel guilty over it. I’m sorry I put you in that position. I know you were doing it for me—”
“Hold on there,” he cut her off because she was dead wrong. “Make no mistake, Abby, last night was by no means just about you. I crossed that threshold for me, too. Okay?”
She held his gaze, and he knew when she noted the truth in his eyes when her gaze softened. “Okay.” She stared at him a second then lifted her chin. “We’re re-entering the…friend-zone.”
A smile twitched his lips at her terminology. “Guess we are.”
“That means no benefits, right?” Hope flickered through her eyes.
He clenched his jaw against the heat skittering down his spine, plumping his erection to life. “Right.”
“Thought so.” She nodded, gripping the strap of the purse slung over her shoulder. “Just checking.”
He nodded, holding her gaze for a few beats, the air around them heated and charged. The need to taste her again intensified when his gaze dropped to her mouth without permission. At the sound of her hissed breath, he glanced up to find her blue eyes dark and hungry.
Shit.
That friend-zone was in imminent danger of a breach…by him.
He fisted his hands to keep from reaching for her. “Abby, if you don’t stop looking at me like that, we—”
“God, I hope so.”
His damn zipper was cutting off his blood supply. “What about the friend-zone?”
She inhaled as if she found the act of breathing a chore. “Maybe we can negotiate some benefits in there?”
Now he sucked in air. “Keep talking.”
What the hell was he saying? They shouldn’t even be considering this.
But he knew it was already too late. They were doing this. There was no damn way he was strong enough to ward off his need for this amazing woman.
She drifted closer and he met her halfway. “Um…counting today, we have four days before my brother returns,” she said, lifting a hand, and he felt it tremble when she placed it against his chest, then trailed it all the way down to the top of his jeans.
He was a fuckin’ goner.
“So…maybe your benefits package is viable during that period?”
Cooper gave in to the mischief gleaming in her eyes. “Sounds viable,” he said, using her cute terminology. He cocked his head. “There is one problem, though...”
She raised a brow. “What?”
He grinned and yanked his shirt back off. “One of us is wearing too many clothes.”
An answering grin pulled at her lips. “Correct,” she said. “Good thing I have a solution.”
Before he could respond, she shocked the shit out of him by tugging her gray sweatshirt over her head, then repeated the process with her navy sports bra before dropping both on the floor at his feet.
Damn.
His heart rocked and his erection pulsed behind his jeans. She looked hot. Smoking hot, shirtless, braless, hair slicked back in a ponytail, gorgeous breasts hanging out, tempting peaks tightening right before his eyes.
Son-of-a-bitch…he was ready to burst.
“You look hot.” His voice sounded rough to his own ears, which made sense since he was having a rough time keeping his hands off her.
She smiled then blinked at his feet. “Oh, wait. We’re not even.”
After slipping out of her sneakers, she grasped the back of the nearby couch and leaned down to yank off her gray socks plastered with cat faces. Each movement jiggled her gorgeous breasts and by the time she straightened, his mouth dutifully watered
.
“Okay. We’re even now.” She wiggled her pink-tipped toes and grinned.
Unable to keep his distance, he stepped to her. “Actually, we’re not.”
“We’re not?”
“No.” Using one finger, he traced a circle around her belly button before drawing a line down to the top of her sweats, where he tugged on the cute bow tied there. “Unless you’re commando in these.”
Her intake of breath cooled the air between them, and he watched her nipples pucker further. “Y-you don’t have any…”
“Affirmative.” He chuckled, trailing his finger up to her breast. “I just got out of the shower.” He skimmed her gorgeous peaks. Both of them. “Remember?”
She trembled, but remained still instead of moving forward into his touch. “I remember everything.”
He swallowed, his entire body going hot. “So do I. Always will.”
Abby moved then, sliding her hands up his chest, over his shoulders to lock behind his neck, and pressed her glorious curves against him. Cooper then let out a long, shaky breath. The feel of her breasts brushing his chest was too amazing for words.
Nuzzling his neck, she breathed him in and sighed. “Mmm…you smell good.”
The woman was so captivating and hot and soft. He ran his hands down her back and slipped them beneath her sweats to cup her sweet ass then pressed his arousal against her.
“Cooper?” She drew back enough to catch his gaze, and her mouth was so close to his he could feel her talk when she whispered, “Sorry, I’m wearing a thong.”
He chuckled and tightened his hold on her. God, she was adorable. “It’s okay,” he said, his mouth tingling by the light brush of their lips. “How attached to it are you?”
She narrowed her eyes. “Uh…not very…why?”
Slipping his hands around the thin band near one hip, he tugged hard and the material snapped in his grasp.
“Oh.” Her blue eyes blazed. She wiggled her hips and her nipples scraped his chest while she chuckled against his lips. “Looks like we’re even after all…except you owe me for that thong.”
“Allow me to pay up…” he said against her lips before he kissed her, slow and tentative at first, even though he wanted to crush her close and plunder.
Her hitched breath took away his and Cooper knew riding out the anticipation of all that was to come—their incredible connection—would be worth the wait. Being with Abby was a crazy-ass, amazing ride.
“I hope you don’t have to go home tonight,” he said against her jaw, surprising himself by the invitation, yet knowing he wouldn’t want to let her go until he had to.
“No,” she muttered, clutching his shoulders, leaning to the side to give him better access to her neck. “I was going to the rec center to expend some energy…but I think perhaps you’re going to help with that.”
A thrill raced through him. “Affirmative.”
He twisted them around and pressed her back against the nearby wall, swallowing her moan with a teasing, seeking kiss that had them both gasping for air. Dragging his mouth to the curve where her neck and shoulder connected, he basked in her every hitched breath, feeling them straight to his throbbing tip. “I’m going to wear us both out tonight.”
Chapter Eleven
With his mouth back on hers, Cooper lifted her up, and she wrapped her legs around his hips. He swallowed a curse, then grunted when he pressed her sweet ass against the wall, brushing his erection against her center.
She cried out, breaking the kiss, “That feels so good.”
“Hell, yeah,” he muttered, trailing hot kisses down her neck, stopping to nibble behind her ear. Felt damn good.
Abby sucked in a breath and her hold tightened on his head. He nipped her earlobe and watched tiny goosebumps shimmer down her gorgeous body. Her nipples were tight and firm, begging for attention, and he happily obliged.
Pressing his knee against the wall, he used his leg to hold her in place, freeing up his hands to cup her breasts and tweak her tight buds with his thumbs.
She gasped before tugging his face to hers, her gaze full of so much heat and longing it was almost his undoing.
“Please tell me you have condoms,” she begged, voice throaty with need before kissing the corner of his mouth and running her tongue over his lower lip.
Jesus, she was killing him.
“Yes,” he replied, his voice just as hoarse…just as needy.
He captured her lips and slid his tongue into her mouth for a very thorough sparring match that had need spiking through him and her gorgeous, sexy, prone body shaking in his arms.
Without breaking the kiss, he pushed them from the wall and headed to the bedroom with two hands full of a world-class ass he’d never tire of touching.
Or kissing.
Or biting.
Or licking.
Heat skittered down his spine again and spread out in a swift wave.
Cooper wasn’t sure what had happened. His plan had been to go back to no touching. One look at the hunger in her gaze blasted his resolve, shifting his resolution, and the next thing he knew, they were both naked from the waist up, her legs were wrapped around his hips and he was hard. Damn hard.
Hell, he’d been hard since he’d found her on his doorstep.
This was a bad idea, but he was past caring. Especially when she drew back from the kiss to nip at his chin then bottom lip, and sucked it into her mouth.
Damn, she was potent.
Cooper carried Abby to the middle of the bedroom, then let her slide slowly down, enjoying every single soft curve brushing his body. Groaning, he drew her in closer, kissing her long and deep and… Oh, Jesus, her knuckles skimmed his abs as she unfastened his jeans.
Desire flamed through his body. He released her mouth and ran his hands down her sides to rest on her hips. “We need to lose the clothes. Fast.”
“Agreed.” She smiled.
Before she could react, he tugged her sweatpants down to her ankles, the remnants of her thong falling to the floor.
Smiling, she stepped out of her pants and stood gloriously naked in front of him. His heart kicked the shit out of his ribs.
The gorgeous woman had no idea what she did to him.
He shucked his jeans, moved to Abby and fell with her onto the nearby bed, vaguely thinking that Gabe was right. He and Abby enjoyed the hell out of each other’s company.
He grinned down at the beauty beneath him and traced her sweet face. “You want top or bottom?”
A wicked gleam entered her eyes as she brushed his palm with her lips. “Both.” A second later, she rolled them until she was on top. “Is that okay?”
“Hell, yeah.” He skimmed his hands up her thighs to the beautiful swell of her hips. Damn, she was so soft. Silky. He caressed his way up the side of her ribs to cup her tight-tipped breasts that were once again begging for his attention.
Just as before, he eagerly obliged.
He brushed his thumbs over both peaks and watched as Abby closed her eyes and moaned while rocking on his erection. Fuck. Cooper clamped down hard on his control. She was killing him, and so damn responsive he wanted to hear her scream his name.
He brushed his thumb over her exposed center and was rewarded with a long, low, sexy moan.
“Mmm…I need you in me, Cooper,” she murmured, rocking on him.
Swallowing an oath, he grasped her upper arms and tugged her down, his pulse pounding in his ears at the feel of her soft, full breasts brushing his chest. She opened her mouth, but he didn’t wait for her words, he kissed her hard and deep, needing to taste her…now. She touched her tongue to his and trembled.
That’s what he needed. Her hunger, her heat. Cooper needed to know he wasn’t in this crazy, relentless craving alone.
Wrapping his hand around her ponytail, he released her mouth and tugged her head to the side to kiss a path down her throat and sink his teeth into her neck. She hissed a breath and rocked against him, her hands blazing a trail over his shoulde
rs while her mouth closed around his throat and sucked.
Heat ricocheted down his body.
He flipped them over so he was on top. “My turn,” he murmured against her collarbone as he brushed his lips down her breast and gently tugged on her nipple with his teeth.
“Cooper…” Her voice was a husky whisper and she shoved her fingers in his hair to hold him there.
But he had plans.
Releasing her glorious nipple, he captured the other and tugged until her squirming had him fighting to keep from exploding. Abby was a gift. A damn incredible gift. She gave without even knowing. Kissing a path down her quivering belly, he headed straight to the part he longed to taste and explore the most. She trembled and spread her legs as if she needed his mouth on her there, too.
Using his shoulders to hold her open, he settled between her thighs and lightly stroked a finger over her center. “Nice and wet,” he muttered before pressing his mouth to her glistening folds.
A sexy, needy sound met his ears as her fingers returned to tangle in his hair and hold him in place. Cooper glanced up, intent on telling her he wasn’t going anywhere, but he stilled, heart pitching hard in his chest at the sight of her caught up in the blistering passion.
Her lips were parted, and her eyes were half-closed, glazed over and dark with need. Damn…she was every man’s fantasy.
She was his tonight.
Empowered by the knowledge, he watched her face as he pressed his mouth back on her and didn’t let up until he commanded the scream he’d yearned to hear. When her shuddering finally stopped, he brought her down slowly, enjoying every last bit of her before pulling his mouth away.
She was so sweet.
So damn beautiful.
So not ever going to leave his mind.
“Wow…Cooper…” She lifted up on her elbows to stare down at him, her gorgeous breasts bouncing with her ragged breaths. “That was…I needed…that.”
A chuckle broke from his dry throat. “Me, too.” He kissed one thigh, then the other before leaving the bed to fish the condom from the box in his nightstand. A few moments later, he returned, condom in place, and bent to kiss and nip at her hip.
Cooper (HC Heroes Series Book 5) Page 13
