“This is where I belong,” he groans. “This is my home.”
“This is my home too, but I beg you, move…please.”
“As you wish…” His thrusts are painstakingly slow and I can feel every ripple of his cock as it moves in and out of me. I know right now he’s trying to drive me wild, wanting me to beg for more. There’s no way this man has forgotten I like to be pounded and made sore for tomorrow.
“Faster…enjoy me later. Fuck me now!” I demand frustrated. He shakes his head, his blonde waves dancing around, messing with me. My fingers grip in his hair, yanking it hard, feeling a couple strands breaking off in my hand. “Give me what I want, Reid. Take me.”
A pleased smile spreads across his face. “That’s my girl. Always knowing what she wants.” Planting a kiss on my nose, he pulls out, and I feel his tip at my entrance. “Hold on baby, I’ve got you.”
He slams into me violently, filling me to the hilt. My head hits the soft backboard and my hand releases its hold from his hair from the aggressive hit. “Yes, yes…” I scream, begging for more and harder. I need more.
He repeats the rhythm, but each time his thrusts become stronger and more frantic. My heels dig into his back trying to hold on to him. The bed creaks below us, the scent and the sound of our rough love making fills the room.
My nails run down his back; I’m sure leaving a permanent trail of red marks as I fall over the brink and call out his name in the most powerful orgasm I’ve had in years. My whole body shakes, making me weak and tired, but I want more.
“Now that’s the best sight ever,” he tells me through his panting. “I love that I can still do that for you.”
“The only one!”
And it’s the truth.
“Fuck, baby.” His lips latch onto mine in a scorching kiss. The aftershocks of my orgasm, meeting his long punishing strokes are about to send off another earthquake.
“That’s it, baby, let it go. Come with me.”
“I—I can’t—” My pussy grips his cock, sucking him in and holding him in place. He’s barely moving inside me. It’s enough though, all I need…
“Yes, you can Ace, you’re right there again. Scream for me, baby.” Cooper breaks through the tightened walls and sends me off again.
“Fuck, yes!” he hisses and spills himself into me, chanting my name like a sweet prayer.
He falls and rolls to his side, taking me with him in his strong arms.
We don’t say anything as we listen to the sounds of our breathing; both of our chests rise and fall as our heartbeats calm from the amazing high. Our souls have connected again. He’s here, I’m here, in this bed together, where I finally feel whole again. His hand brushes down my cheek, pushing my hair back.
“I love you. I could never stop loving you. I’m not letting you go again, Violet.”
“I don’t want you to let me go either. I love you.” I roll my body on top of his and kiss him with everything I have. He grabs a handful of my ass and pushes me into his already growing erection. I guess someone else missed me too and is eager for more.
“Again?” I bat my eyes adoringly.
“Do you really have to ask?”
“We should get back down to the bar. I’m sure your friends are wondering where you are.” He rubs his hand up and down my naked shoulder, both of us content—well for now. The musky smell of our lovemaking lingers in the air.
“I bet they don’t even know that I’m gone with all the free drinks I’m sure they’re drowning in.”
Alexa and Julie are probably having the time of their lives right now, and I’m grateful; the last thing I planned on was leaving them to hook up with my high school boyfriend.
Cooper chuckles and places a kiss on the top of my head. “You might be right, but we’re in Vegas. We should be partying it up.”
“I thought that’s what we were doing?” I bite my lip and wiggle against him. I’m perfectly fine partying in this bed, naked, ‘till I can’t walk again.
“Oh, it is. But if Brody finds out that you’re here and he doesn’t get to see you, he might kill me.”
“Brody’s here?” I shoot up and clap my hands. I missed that bum.
Brody is Cooper’s older brother who was also like a brother to me. We always had Brody’s support when we were dating. He never understood why his parents disliked me, and covered for us all the time when we went out or would run away for the weekend.
“Yeah, he’s my manager.”
“Good. Then I don’t have to worry about you not being in good hands and some crook trying screw you over,” I tease and leave small kisses on his neck.
“I don’t know…sometimes I wonder,” he jokes back, and I smack him playfully. Brody would be the last person to fuck him over. “Come on, get dressed. I promise to bring you back here tonight and the next and so on and so on. You know I’m not letting you go now that I have you back.” His hand tangles in my hair, his eyes telling me how serious he is.
“Cooper…” I start and trail off, glancing down at the mussed up sheets on the bed.
I don’t want to let him go either but I don’t know how that’s going to work. I live in Arizona and he’s in L.A. On top of everything else, he’s always traveling.
“Come on,” he lifts my chin to look at him, “we can talk later and figure it out. I know you don’t want this to end. This is forever now.”
I run my finger along his tattoo of my name. “Forever,” I whisper, making my lasting commitment to him.
“Forever,” he whispers back, kissing me softly on the lips, sealing our devotion.
Once we re-dress, we make our way back to the bar, with Collin, the bodyguard in tow.
Cooper takes my hand as we walk through the club to the VIP area. The music blares louder and there’s double the number of sweaty bodies on the dance floor now. Cooper leads me over to the VIP bar and taps the shoulder of a guy with wild, long, curly, blond hair. Brody: the boy was always in need of a haircut.
He turns around and looks at us with a drink to his lips. “Look who I found,” Cooper grins, pulling me to his chest. Brody’s eyes grow wide, with quick recognition. He places his glass down at the bar, shaking his head in disbelief.
“No!” he exclaims and Cooper laughs.
“Yes.” I nod my head, trying to fight back my own laughter from his surprised remark.
“Violet! Holy Shit!”
“It’s me.” I hold out my arms for him. “Miss me?”
Brody quickly gathers me in his arms and spins me around. Once he’s done making me sick, he places me back onto the ground. “It’s so good to see you.” He grabs my face and squishes my cheeks. “Look at you. You’re really here, jellybean.”
Cooper groans beside me. He always hated the nickname Brody picked out for me, saying I needed something more fitting. Brody kept doing it to drive him insane and honestly, I didn’t mind it.
“God, how are you?” Brody drops his hands from my face, allowing me to answer.
“I’ve been good. How about you?”
“Great. Cooper keeps me busy. Thankfully he pays me well.” Brody looks between us and grins. “I’m so glad to see you. Because this man,” he claps Cooper’s shoulders, “has never been the same since you left.”
“Shut up, dick.” Cooper shoves Brody away
Brody puts his arm around my shoulder and leans down to whisper in my ear. “He’s never gotten over you. Not that I can blame him.”
“The feeling is mutual.” I glance over at Cooper who winks, showing off his dimple, reminding me again why so many girls go wild over him.
“You, my friend, need a drink.” Brody waves down the bartender and orders us a couple shots of scotch. My liver and stomach protest, even if it’s the expensive shit.
The bartender pours the amber liquid into the shot glasses and slides them over to the three of us.
“Cheers,” Brody says. We click our glasses, and toss them back. Thankfully, I’m already drunk, so it didn’t tast
e as bad as I was expecting, but I have no control over my yuck face when I slam the glass back down.
“Still not a fan I see.” Cooper kisses my cheek and I shake my head, the burn settling in my chest.
“Never will be.”
A loud feminine squeal comes from behind us: Julie’s. I turn and see Alexa and Julie in the middle of the dance floor, grinding on each other.
“Brody, you need to come and meet my friends.” I grab both their hands and pull them towards the dance floor.
“Alexa, Jules!” I shout over the thumping music.
“Violet, you’re back!” Alexa cheers excitedly. “You’ve been missing everything.” She glances at Cooper beside me and bites her lip to contain her laughter. “Never mind, I forgot already.”
I redden, remembering the naked fun I was having moments ago. “I want you guys to meet Brody. He’s Cooper’s brother.”
Brody fixes his collar and gives them his full white smile. “Hello, ladies. Room for one more?”
“You bet!” Alexa pulls Brody between her and Julie, sandwiching him in.
“Cooper, will you dance with me?” I bat my eyes and run my hands up his chest and around his neck.
“It would be my pleasure, baby.”
Cooper grabs my ass and pulls me flush against him. The rhythm and the pulsation of the music take control of my body, and I grind myself into him. Soon, our hands and mouths are all over each other’s exposed skin, and then I don’t think we’re dancing anymore, but fully making out; Cooper’s erection poking me in the stomach.
It’s not ‘till we hear the hoots and hollers of my friends that we break apart.
Yeah, we were seconds away from taking each other in the middle of the dance floor.
Being in Cooper’s arms makes me feel like a teenager again.
“Damn, you two are fucking hot,” Alexa howls, fanning herself.
“It seems hot at first, but you’ll get sick of it soon.” Brody’s eyes roll to the back of his head. “Real soon.”
A waiter walks by and Cooper grabs me a drink, and another, as we continue to dance. I’m feeling the full effects of all the drinks I’ve poured down my throat; somewhere between wanting to pass out and ready for a marathon.
“I’m so glad I came to Vegas,” I say into Cooper’s ear and then chomp down on his lobe.
“Me too. To think I almost didn’t come out tonight.”
It’s destiny, I’m sure of it.
“I’m going to slow it down for a minute.” The DJ’s voice booms over the speakers. “Cooper, Violet this one is for you, from Brody.” We both glance over at the DJ stand. Brody is up there with Alexa and Julie, the three of them wearing mischievous smiles.
The opening to “My Everything” vibrates through the sound system. All the couples around us, start to sway as Cooper’s smooth voice begins to sing the lyrics, I know by heart.
“I used to be told dreams never come true
And I shouldn’t believe in the make-believe.
I almost believed it - 'till I saw you
My everything
You were standing in the crowd, your eyes on me.
I dreamed you would be mine.
You quickly became my dream come true
when you told me you loved me too
My undying love is for you
For only you
‘Cause you’re everything to me.”
“I love this song. It’s one of my favorites,” I muse, letting the lyrics absorb into my heart and soul like they always do.
“I’m glad to hear that...because I wrote it about you,” he whispers in my ear.
“You did?” I say, pretending to be shocked. The lyrics were always clear as day; it was our story, but then there was a part of me that would think maybe someone else claimed his heart along the way.
I would fall asleep thinking Cooper was beside me singing this song.
He brushes his hand down my face, and pushes a loose strand of hair back. “Of course I did. You’re my muse, Ace. Most of my songs are about you.”
“I was always afraid to admit to myself they were.” The tears slip from my eyes. “I never stopped loving you Cooper…” My words slur.
“And I never stopped loving you, Violet.” He bends down and kisses me, our bodies no longer moving and our tongues doing the dancing instead. The two of us are in our own little world, our mouths desperate to make up for lost time.
Somehow, we manage to separate as the song fades. His forehead rests on mine, and his hungry eyes search mine.
“I don't want to lose you, Violet. I wouldn’t be able to go on if I let you slip through my fingers again. I need you in my life—everyday.”
“I'm not going anywhere.” There’s no other place I want to be but with him.
A look of panic and worry crosses his face. I’m not sure what caused the sudden change, then he blurts out, “We should get married.”
My heart jumps into my throat and I try to swallow it down. Did he say, get married? My head is spinning from the words and the liquor running through my veins. Me? Mrs. Cooper Reid?
“Married? You mean me and you?” I wave my finger between us, giggling like a nut. I’m not really sure why I asked. I might be slightly dizzy and inebriated, but I knew he meant us, it just all sounds insane.
“Yes, me and you, goofy. We’re in the perfect place. We should do it. Now,” he pushes, excitement spinning in his blue eyes.
“Married? Now?” I ask again, to confirm the craziness that’s about to go down. The words of my promise from the last time we saw each other circle in my head, a promise I swore I would keep if I had the chance...
“I love you too, Violet. I always will. You're my girl. My only girl and one day I swear I'm going to marry you.”
“And I promise to say yes.”
“Say yes, Vi. I never want to let you go again. Marry me, please.”
“Yes…”
TWO
OCTOBER 5th, 1999
Violet
I ’m walking down the halls of Riverside High that are littered with Halloween decorations and posters asking to vote for your homecoming queen and king. I've just gotten out of a meeting with the yearbook committee, a club I only joined because my friend Kayla told me how fun it would be. I’m always game for anything, so I joined. It hasn’t been too bad; tomorrow I’m going to be taking pictures around the school.
Before I leave, I stop at my locker to grab my calculus book. The halls are quiet, almost everyone has gone home from their after-school activities.
“Well, well, well, you're looking fine today, Violet.”
My blood runs cold at the voice that's been stalking me and my nightmares for the last two months. And no matter how much I complain, nobody seems to care. His family is part of the high society and his dad is the superintendent of schools.
Thomas Ryan can do no wrong in their eyes.
I slowly close my locker, gulping down the panic that rises from my stomach. Turning around, I come face to face with the beady eyes of a sick monster.
“What do you want, Thomas?” I try to act put off by his presence, but it doesn’t work when my voice shakes. His haunting, brown eyes roam over my body, and he steps closer to me.
“I think you know just what I want.” He licks his lips and lunges for me. I try to make a break for it, letting my backpack fall to the ground, but I don’t get far when he grabs ahold of my wrist.
“You’re not going anywhere.” He twists my wrist, and searing pain lances through it. He grabs the other one, then slams me roughly into the wall of lockers. My head makes direct contact with the metal doors causing my ears to ring and my vision to go momentarily fuzzy.
“I’m so glad I finally have you alone. We need to talk, honey,” he whispers into my ear.
“GET OFF OF ME!” I yell at him, trying to kick and push him away from my body.
He grabs me by my neck and squeezes “Shut up, bitch. I’m finally going to get what is mine.”
Where is everyone?
“This will be so much easier if you don’t fight me, baby.” His hot breath burns my skin and when he licks behind my ear the wetness is like acid.
I’m doing everything in my power to get out of his hold. He puts his hand up my shirt and I freeze. My mind goes into overdrive remembering the letters he’d written to me describing in deep, disgusting detail the things he wants to do to my body. The letters, written in black ink, which seem invisible to other people’s eyes.
Tears run down my face when he snaps my bra strap, the elastic stinging my back briefly. Thomas cackles like a madman as his hand inches closer to my breast.
No. I can’t let him win today.
“Stop!” I manage to kick him in the shin and he curses under his breath. It’s enough to get him to remove his hand from under my shirt, but his grip tightens around my neck instead.
“Shut up, whore. You know you want this,” he growls in my ear.
“No!” I try to scream again, but my voice is silent. I’m lightheaded and I close my eyes, feeling the darkness coming on. I think I’m still trying to kick at him, though I can’t be too sure.
The tightness around my throat suddenly disappears, and oxygen fills my lungs again. There’s a loud grunt and my eyes flicker open, knowing I need to get away.
Though when I take in the scene in front of me; it’s not what I expected.
Thomas is on the floor, and a boy with wavy blond hair is laying punch after punch into Thomas’ face.
My savior.
“She said no, motherfucker,” the boy seethes, still laying punches to the monster’s face.
Once I finally get my breath and equilibrium back, I approach the blond, putting my hand on his shoulder trying to grab his attention. As much as I hate Thomas, he’d never get away with it being self-defense if he killed him.
I Found You Page 4
