Brad ran a hand over his face. “I’ve got one who thinks he knows me too.”
“Whatever.” This conversation was heading off track. Cooper narrowed his eyes and lowered his voice. “I’m telling you to leave Willow be.”
The other man’s face twisted and his jaw tightened. “I’ve loved her for a long time.”
Cooper’s chest tightened. Did the ex truly want her back? Ignoring the pain, he glowered. “Shit way of showing it.”
“I know.” Then Brad squared his shoulders and returned his own glare. “But like I said, it’s none of your fucking business.”
Cooper’s temper heated as well. “Yeah?” He stepped closer. “Willow’s my business.”
“How so?” Brad’s chest puffed up, as if he was preparing for the classic mano a mano bump.
Sucking in a quick breath, Cooper’s hands fisted. A slug fest? That could work. He hadn’t been in a fight in years, but taking down his adversary was going to feel damn good.
Wait. Adversary? What?
That sounded like rival. Suspiciously, wrongly, like rival.
A horn honked on the street, shattering the simmering tension of the moment. They both glanced over, and someone shouted. “Coop!”
It was enough to have him stepping back, relaxing his arms, letting in a second thought.
Enough for Brad too, maybe, because he muttered something anatomically impossible in Cooper’s direction and stomped off down the street.
The café door opened as he rubbed the back of his neck and breathed deep, searching for his usual cool. His dad stepped out. “Good for you,” he said.
Cooper’s hand dropped and he stared at the older man. “What?”
“I could read the situation as well as you. She didn’t want him but he’s not giving up.”
“That’s not exactly how it is, I don’t think, but—”
“You should have punched him like you wanted to.”
“Huh?” Cooper’s head jerked back. Was this his in-the-box, rule-following, law-abiding, head-of-the-family? “What are you saying?”
“That you should have decked him.” His father frowned. “Don’t look at me like that.”
“Uh, didn’t you always tell me to avoid—”
“And you never listened to a thing I said, so I don’t know why you’d start now,” Randy grumbled.
“Dad…” Cooper couldn’t think of how to respond.
“You’ve done all right following your heart instead of your head,” his father continued. “Maybe you should keep doing that.”
“Is that a measure of approval I hear?” Cooper said, wondering aloud. He looked up. “Are those pigs flying?”
“We can all change,” the old man answered, then brushed past him to re-enter the café.
We can all change.
Cooper decided to mull that over later.
Chapter Eleven
Willow debated ordering a coffee as she waited in the café for Sophie Daggett to emerge from the swinging door that led to the kitchen at Harry’s. But early evening caffeine was usually not her friend, so she reached into the satchel over her shoulder. Inside was the packet that made up her formal proposal for their family’s lake house renovation. As her fingers closed over it, the other woman appeared.
“Hey,” Sophie said, smiling. A striped apron wrapped her petite figure and her blonde hair was covered by a flowered bandanna. She held up a brown bag packed with various containers. “Here you go.”
“Um…” Willow glanced at the proffered item, then withdrew her own neatly tied accordion file. “I thought I was supposed to be giving you this.”
“Oh.” Sophie blinked. “Those are the plans?”
“Your dad told me to drop them off here.”
The blonde’s eyebrows drew together. “And he told me you’d stop by to pick up a catered dinner on your way to take them to Cooper.”
Willow frowned. “Wires crossed, I guess.” Though she was certain Randy had instructed her to pass the package to Sophie. “How about I leave it with you anyway?”
The other woman pursed her lips. “Could I sweet-talk you into delivering this food and the plans to Cooper instead? I’m heading in the opposite direction to meet a friend, and I’m already late. Didn’t you mention your place—”
“Is not far from his,” Willow finished. “I could do that, if you think it’s what your dad really wants.”
“I think my dad really wants to get you over to Cooper’s,” Sophie said with a grin. Her eyebrows jumped up and down. “I detect matchmaking.”
Willow shook her head, not believing it for an instant. “The last time we met he tried to fix me up with your oldest brother.”
Laughing, the blonde swung the bag forward. “He must really like you if he offered you Beau.”
Willow grabbed the food, then shoved the plans back in her satchel. Delicious smells rose from the containers and she sniffed appreciatively. “This smells amazing.”
“My grandpa Daggett’s famous chicken Alfredo and garlic bread. Cooper’s favorite. There’s a green salad in there too.”
Willow’s stomach rumbled and her mouth watered. “Lucky man.”
“So he always says.” Sophie pointed at the full bag. “There’s enough for two.”
A little illicit thrill coursed through Willow as she thought about sharing a meal with Cooper. But if a meal for two had been ordered… “Do you think he’s expecting a date?” she asked, more unsettled by the idea than she liked.
Sophie shrugged. “Could be, I suppose. Would that bother you?”
“Of course not,” Willow waved away the silly notion. “He’s a free and easy kind of guy.”
“Fun and games,” Sophie murmured. “But how about you? Grapevine has it—”
“I’m free and easy too,” Willow said, pasting on a big smile. “Every day’s a new day.” Then she said a goodbye and sailed out of Harry’s before some other trite phrase fell from her lips.
The trip to Cooper’s condo took no time at all. She tacked on that big smile again as she waited for him to answer his bell. Don’t blink an eye, she told herself, whatever’s on the other side. Whoever.
But she narrowed both when the door opened a crack and she spied Cooper, hair disheveled, whiskers gone beyond sexy stubble to scratchy beard. He didn’t look a jot less appealing, but definitely grumpy. And alone?
“What do you want?” he asked.
Willow was suddenly glad she wore the skinny-strap sundress with the deep vee in the front. Before stopping at Harry’s, she’d attended the bridal shower for Carrie, her manicurist, so she had an excuse for the good hair, makeup that included lipstick, eye shadow, blush, and mascara, as well as the party-wear.
His gaze drifted toward her cleavage and she laughed to herself as she blocked his view with the bag of food. “From Sophie. Dinner for you and a companion.”
His expression only turned more irritable. “What companion?”
With that question answered, she pushed into his condo. The TV in the living area was on mute, a laptop sat open on the coffee table, and a bed pillow and blanket lay on the couch cushions, like someone had been sleeping there.
She winced. “Sorry. Did I interrupt a nap?”
“As if I’ve been sleeping,” he muttered, shoving a hand through his hair. “And I never nap.”
“Then what’s got you so cranky?” she asked.
“I hate that word,” he said. Crankily.
Willow smothered her smile. It shouldn’t endear him to her, but to see Mr. Unfailingly Charming acting like a dog with a sore paw made him seem so…much more human. Touchable.
She crossed to the kitchen and set the bag on the island, then fished in her satchel to drag out the accordion file and drop it onto the granite too. His stare felt prickly, like the touch of tiny thorn points on her skin.
Strange, that she didn’t dislike it. She glanced over, he looked away. “So what’s bothering you?” she asked.
He shot another look at her then away again
. “Some work stuff. I made a mistake on some paperwork and it took me all day to straighten it out.”
“You solved it then. That’s good.”
“I never make a mistake on work stuff.”
Poor baby, she thought, though his testy mood continued to amuse. “You’ve been preoccupied? Maybe your mind’s been on that anniversary party coming up?”
“Don’t remind me,” he mumbled. “I don’t want to think about it.”
“Then you could use a distraction.” She hesitated, her taste buds tickled by the delicious aroma emanating from Sophie’s bag. “How about dinner and a movie?”
He stilled. “Are you asking me out on a date?”
She managed an offhand wave. “I mean dinner and a movie here. Right now.”
“Oh.” Cooper shrugged. “Sure.”
“That’s what friends are for, right?”
“Yeah.” He rubbed his hand over his hair. “Friends.”
His voice didn’t betray any enthusiasm at the idea and she felt heat crawl up her neck. “If you don’t feel like it—”
“I could eat,” he said. “I suppose I could use company besides my own lousy mood.”
“I’ll dish up if you want to choose the movie.” She put her satchel and purse on the coffee table beside the couch, then started for the kitchen area. After two steps, she turned back. “By the way, I’m really squealy about horror movies.”
Now he looked amused. “Squealy?”
“You don’t want to know.”
Apparently, he did. As they sat side-by-side on the sofa with matching plates of delicious pasta, bread, and salad, the big screen showed the opening of a cliché-ridden scary teen movie. While they ate the food, she managed her fear by focusing on her utensils and then by some heavy eye-rolling as the young people made increasingly ridiculous decisions.
But when he took their empty dishes to the kitchen, he returned to find her wrapped into a knot of anxiety, her gaze fixed on the teenagers and their long, ill-advised trek through shadowy woods. When Cooper dropped into his seat, she squealed, he laughed, and then he ruffled her hair.
“We can choose something else, sweetheart.”
Willow shook her head. “Not before Mean Girl gets the ugly death due her.”
“That sounds serious.” One of his hands gently took hold of her chin and turned her face toward him. “Were there mean girls in your past?”
“A time or two,” she admitted. It seemed she could deny Cooper nothing. “I was the shabby girl and often the new girl. During high school I was the girl who didn’t live with her own family.”
He grimaced. “Kids can be cruel.”
She smiled. “That’s why I’m rooting for this particular cruel girl’s comeuppance.”
Chuckling, he drew her closer. “I think you’ll be satisfied.”
Without thinking, she leaned against his chest, held within the light circle of his arms. Just a couple of pals enjoying a spooky flick building toward its bloody denouement. His grasp tightened when she shivered. He bussed the top of her head when she let out another squeal.
“Sh,” he said. “I’ve got you.”
She shivered again, but the thrill going through her wasn’t a creepy one. Turning her head, she looked at him and found he was watching her, his expression unfathomable. “Cooper,” she began, whispering.
“Watch the TV,” he said, “or you’ll miss the decapitation.”
After that, she didn’t hesitate to throw her arms around her human anchor until the credits began to roll. Blowing out a long breath, she scooted away from him. “You know, I won’t sleep a wink tonight,” she said.
“Text me if you want, I’ll be up. I haven’t been getting any rest lately.”
“That work problem,” she replied, nodding.
“Yeah. Problems.”
Willow looked more closely at him. “You really aren’t okay,” she said, noting again the scruffy beard and tired eyes. “Can I do something to help?”
“Nah.” His smile looked tattered around the edges, though. “Maybe I’ll put on another movie for more distraction.”
“Okay.” Standing, she reached for her purse on the coffee table. But with her attention on his face, she knocked it over, the contents spewing onto the wooden surface, some items reaching the floor. “Whoops.”
Eek. Looking at the spill, she went to work in a hurry, scooping up items in hopes he wouldn’t notice any of the party favors she’d garnered at Carrie’s event.
“Willow?”
“Hmm?” Without looking at him, she snatched up a small bottle of flavored lube, trying to ignore her embarrassment. “I was at a bridal shower this afternoon. I avoided the tequila shots, but there was a lot of gag swag.” Including an actual gag, she realized, grabbing up a satin length of red fabric that matched a blindfold that she seized next.
“Willow.”
“Yes?” She stowed away the lube, gag, and blindfold, then turned to him. “Oh.”
In one fist he held an array of bright foil-wrapped condoms. In the other, an iridescent vibrator so big around his fingertips barely met.
The floor didn’t open up, so she had to stand there, her silly bridal booty in his big man hands.
Another little secret thrill zinged through her.
Now she noticed there was a mischievous sparkle in his eyes, a brightness that had been missing when she arrived.
And that made the thrill zing again.
“Well, um, you look miraculously more chipper,” she said, pretending to be unaffected.
“Sex toys have a way of doing that to me.” He studied the vibrator. “Is this why you were in such a rush to get home?”
“I wasn’t in a rush.”
He hefted the cylindrical item. “Feels like the batteries are missing. I might have some for you.”
“I don’t need batteries. Or the…the…vibrator,” she blustered, and her skin started to heat. “Here,” she thrust her open purse toward him. “Put it inside.”
“Baby.” He chuckled. “Those words. The invitation they put in my mind.”
“You.” She refused to laugh with him. “Stop now.”
“Bye,” he told the piece of plastic, then let it fall.
“Those next,” she said, nodding to the condoms. “Unless…”
One of his eyebrows rose. “Unless?”
“Well…” Then the words came out of her mouth, she couldn’t stop therm. “I remember you didn’t have any, um, before.” Her breath stuck in her throat and she felt heat bloom everywhere. Had that too sounded like some sort of invitation?
He might have thought so, because it happened then, that charming smile of his dawning, full of daring and deviltry. So. Darn. Sexy. “That’s right. We never did get to experience a full-throttle experience.”
She swallowed. Full throttle. Desire shot through her, stealing her breath and making her thighs weak. The place between them swelled.
Her body swayed toward his.
Cooper caught her as she fell toward the cushions and pulled her into his lap. His soft laugh teased the thin skin at her temple and she felt his lips in her hair. “I should confess,” he said.
She tilted her head against his shoulder to see his face, her eyelids already heavy, her brain asking, Are we really going to do this? while her hormones answered, Why else did you invite yourself for dinner and a movie? “Confess what?”
He sucked her lower lip into his mouth. She quivered, wrapping one arm around his neck.
His head lifted. “I chose that movie just so you’d cling.”
“You didn’t need to tell me that,” she replied, because on some level she’d known it to be so. And she hadn’t objected. And she had clung to him, getting as close as she could, the fake blood and gory killings just an excuse.
“I’d never lie to you, Willow.” His gaze stayed steady on hers. “I won’t.”
“Okay,” she said, believing him. “And I won’t pretend I don’t want this.”
His
next smile kicked up one corner of his mouth. “Good. Don’t fake a thing.”
So she didn’t. Not from the second he drew a finger down the slope of her shoulder to flick the strap of her dress, letting it fall down her arm. Chills chased the action, sweet little shivers that made her squirm against his thighs.
He groaned, his hips lifting into her bottom and she closed her eyes at the heaviness of him there, the promise that this time that heat and steely hardness would find its way inside her.
Kissing her neck, he kiss-sucked his way to the other strap, then used his teeth to draw it down as well. Her body quivered again, the combination of his soft lips and rough beard sensitizing her skin until she felt each of his breaths scoring her flesh with heated pleasure.
So hot.
So hot, she wanted to throw off her clothes, to get naked as soon as possible—and why not? Don’t fake a thing.
She scrambled off his lap, staring down at him and breathing hard.
As if Cooper could read her mind, he smiled. “You do what you want. You take what you want.”
Heady stuff, the idea of not waiting for someone else’s move, of not wondering how to please a partner, of not being grateful enough for his mere presence in her life to not act on her own impulses or seek her own satisfaction first.
Without even trying to be sexy for Cooper, she reached for the hem of the dress and yanked it over her head, flinging it away. She stood in her panties and heeled sandals and he stared at her, a small smile on his face. “Beautiful.”
If I were free to touch you, I’d show you how much I want you. How beautiful I find your body, what I’d give, how slow I’d go to arouse you. I’d make you beg when I was rough and cry when I was tender. I’d be both.
She wanted it all. In seconds she was completely naked, and then she straddled him, her mouth fusing to his, her hands delving under his T-shirt to slide up the contours of his muscled chest. He grunted in pleasure, his hands clasping her hips and caressing her there. Her tongue went deep in his mouth, tasting him, allowing the kiss to get as wet and dirty as she might have worried before made her dirty.
But with Cooper looking at her with lust heating his eyes, she only felt powerful and desirable and even that didn’t matter, because what she really felt was like herself, like Willow, enjoying her body and the touch of this sexy man.
ANTE UP (7-Stud Club Book 3) Page 15
