by Susan Stoker
“I’m in, sweetheart. Breathe. Take a breath,” he said tenderly.
She did as he suggested, and felt him deep inside her. She felt full, extremely full, and was more thankful than she could say for him giving her a moment to adjust to his size.
Kiera looked up at him and saw that he was crouched over her and wasn’t moving a muscle.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“For what?” he asked.
She wasn’t sure. It just felt like she needed to apologize.
“I know you aren’t apologizing for being tight. Or because you obviously haven’t had a man in quite a while. Or that you need a moment to adjust. Because if you are, I’m gonna be pissed.”
Kiera’s lips twitched. When he put it like that, it did sound stupid. She squirmed under him and they both inhaled at the movement.
“Fuck, you feel good,” Cooper breathed. “How you doin’?”
“I’m okay. You can move,” Kiera told him, not entirely sure she was telling the truth, but it wasn’t like they could lie there motionless all night.
Cooper pulled back an inch, then pushed inside her again.
It felt good.
“That felt good,” she told him.
He didn’t respond, but smiled down at her. He did it again. And again. Each time pulling out farther before pushing back inside her wet heat slowly and carefully. Eventually his easy, careful thrusts weren’t enough.
“More,” Kiera said firmly. “I’m good now. I need more.”
“Then you’ll get it. I’ll always give you what you need, sweetheart.”
His words were sweet, but at the moment, she didn’t want sweet. When he pulled out and thrust inside her the next time, Kiera pressed her own hips up, taking him hard.
“Are you sure?” Cooper asked.
“Yes. Fuck me. Please.”
And he did. Time ceased to exist. Only Cooper did. He used his hands, cock, and body to make sure she was pleased. And she was.
After the first time she came, Kiera thought that was it, that Cooper would do what he needed in order to make himself come, but he didn’t. He merely smiled down at her, brushed his hand over her forehead and hair, and told her that her exploding in his arms, under him, around him, was the most amazing thing he’d ever seen and felt. Then he proceeded to tell her he wanted to see and feel it again.
It wasn’t until she’d come a third time that he finally lost control. He put both hands next to her shoulders on the mattress and took what he needed.
Kiera’s gaze wandered from his face to where they were connected and back again. Watching him ramp up to the point of no return was sexy as fuck. When he did finally lose it, he pressed himself as far inside her as he could get and held very still. Kiera could feel him throbbing and wished that she could feel his hot come filling her.
His jaw tensed and his eyes closed in ecstasy as he came. Finally, when he’d emptied himself, his eyes opened and the look in them made Kiera inhale sharply.
“You’re mine,” he declared. “I’m never letting you go.”
“Good. I don’t want you to,” Kiera fired back.
He smiled, then eased himself down onto her, being careful not to crush her. He rolled to his back and pulled her with him. They both groaned when his softening cock slipped out of her body.
“Do you need to take care of the condom?” she asked softly, running her fingers through the hair on his chest.
“In a minute. I’m enjoying this too much to move,” he said in a sleepy voice.
“Me too.”
“Close your eyes. Relax.”
Kiera tried, but when her stomach growled, they both chuckled. “Guess I’m hungrier than I thought,” she said sheepishly.
Cooper turned his head and looked her in the eyes. “I’ve never laughed during sex before.”
“Uh, we’re not actually having sex at the moment,” she informed him.
His smile got wider. “You know what I mean.”
She nodded. “Yeah.”
“I like it.”
“Me too.”
Her stomach growled again.
Cooper shook his head in amusement. “Guess we’re getting up.”
“Look on the bright side,” Kiera said. “We can get up, eat, then have the energy to come back here and do that some more.”
“Yeah, I could have dessert after we eat. Good plan.”
Kiera knew she was blushing, but nodded anyway.
He had pity on her and sat up, pulling her with him. “I’ll take care of the condom. Put on my shirt. Nothing else. I’ll meet you in the kitchen to help put something together.”
“Bossy,” Kiera complained without heat.
He leaned down and kissed her hard, then said, “I warned you what would happen if you let me into that hot body of yours.”
“You said that I’d be yours, not that you’d turn into a grunting Neanderthal who wants me barefoot and naked in the kitchen.”
“Same thing, baby, same thing,” he teased. “Tell me you don’t want to wear my shirt and I’ll back off.”
Kiera bit her lip. She totally wanted to wear his shirt. It would smell like him, come down to at least the middle of her thighs, so she’d be completely covered…and there was just something about wearing his clothes that got to her. She wrinkled her nose and refused to answer.
He merely laughed. “Go on, sweetheart. I’ll meet you in the kitchen.”
“Okay.”
“One more thing,” Cooper said.
Kiera turned toward him and raised an eyebrow in question.
“Thank you. Thank you for loving me. For trusting me. For letting me in. You won’t regret it.”
“I know I won’t,” Kiera told him decisively. Then she kissed him and climbed out of bed. Knowing she was putting on a show for him, she reached down and grabbed his shirt and pulled it over her head. Grinning at him over her shoulder, she walked toward the door of the bedroom, putting a bit of swagger in her step. “After we eat, we can bring the can of whipped cream back here and see what trouble we can get into.”
Laughing at the growl that came out of his mouth, Kiera quickly left the room. She’d never been so happy in her life. She was sexually and emotionally satisfied and had a gorgeous former SEAL in her bedroom, soon to be next to her in the kitchen, helping to make them something for dinner. It was funny how life turned out.
Chapter 9
The rest of the weekend went much like Friday night. Lots of laughter, eating good food, and sex. Lots of sex. If someone had told Kiera she’d one day find a man who was ten years younger than her, couldn’t keep his hands and mouth off her, and she’d have so much sex she’d be sore as a result…she would’ve laughed at them and told them they were insane.
But by the time Sunday had come around, Kiera was delightfully sore. Cooper was…enthusiastic…which she loved and encouraged. As a result, on Monday morning—he’d stayed all weekend and was still there when her alarm went off for work—realizing sex would be uncomfortable for her, he’d gone down on her and given her a morning orgasm that set the tone for the week.
She’d been sated and content in the knowledge her man genuinely enjoyed not only her body, but being with her.
Now, even after less than a week, they’d already settled into a routine. After she woke up, he made her breakfast while she was in the shower. He left at the same time she did in the morning, going back to his place to grab workout clothes and either meet up with Cutter, Patrick’s admin assistant, or run along the beach by himself. He’d show up at the school a little before lunch and they’d spend a pleasant twenty minutes or so eating together before she’d go back to her classroom, and Cooper would wander off to spend time in some of the other classes. He’d always make an appearance in Kiera’s class before leaving and meeting her back at her apartment when she got home.
They’d fix dinner together, which was awesomely fun, watch some television while she graded papers and made sure her lessons for the next
day were in order, then go to bed. Most of the time it was a couple hours before they actually slept, as the time before was spent enjoying each other’s bodies.
Kiera hadn’t ever been with a man like Cooper. He was attentive, caring, sexy, and most of all, made sure she was happy. Happy with what they were eating for dinner, happy with what they were watching on television, happy with the temperature, and of course, happy while they were intimate.
It wasn’t something she was used to, and she realized pretty quickly that she would need to make sure she didn’t take advantage of Cooper’s attentiveness and desire to please her. He was stubborn and could be bossy, but she truly loved being around him.
Seeing him at school was simply a bonus. Not many women got to hang out with their boyfriends in the middle of the workday.
“How’s your day been?” Cooper asked as he took a bite of the sandwich he’d brought to eat for lunch. He’d also packed her a cup of leftover potato soup they’d made for dinner the night before.
“Good. I think Frankie has a girlfriend.”
Cooper grinned. “Let me guess…Jenny?”
“Yup. He’s obviously been paying attention to you, because today before morning recess, he held her jacket out for her to put her arms through. He’s seen you do that for me several times now.”
“And what’d Jenny do?”
“She signed thank you, then kissed him on the cheek.”
Cooper’s smile got bigger. “Hey, there’s nothing wrong with trainin’ ’em young.”
Kiera rolled her eyes, but couldn’t hold back the grin on her face. “True. Did you have fun with your friend this morning?”
“Fun might not be the word,” Cooper told her. “We met up with Cutter and did suicides on the beach. For a man with a bum leg, Swede sure can move fast.”
“He’ll probably need four ice bags tonight. You retired SEALs think you’re supermen, but you pay the price after being all macho.”
Cooper leaned toward her and put one hand behind her neck, pulling her closer until they were nose to nose. “Newsflash, sweetheart…we are supermen.”
Kiera giggled and wrinkled her nose. “And oh so modest too.”
Chuckling, Cooper kissed her on the nose and sat back. “I’ll admit to a twinge or two, but I’m hoping maybe tonight I can get a backrub from my girlfriend.”
“I don’t know,” Kiera said, lifting one eyebrow. “I bet she’ll want something in return.”
“Oh, I’ll give her something all right,” Cooper deadpanned.
A snort escaped Kiera before she could hold it back, and she put her hand over her mouth in mortification at the weird sound.
Cooper merely shook his head at her. “Goof.”
“You wouldn’t have me any other way,” she returned. Expecting him to have another witty comeback, she was somewhat surprised when he didn’t even smile.
“You’re right, I wouldn’t. I adore you, Kiera. Don’t ever think I take you for granted, because I don’t.”
“I know. And the feeling’s mutual,” she told him.
They stared at each other for a long moment before Kiera broke the intense silence. “You about done?”
“Yeah. You mind if Swede and I pop into your class this afternoon once we give our presentation to the older grades?”
Kiera shook her head. “Absolutely not. The kids will love to see you.” She’d mentioned to her principal that a friend of Cooper’s would be in town and she’d suggested that maybe the two of them could give a short presentation to the older children about the Navy, what it meant to be a SEAL, and how much work it was.
He stood and crumpled his paper bag. He quickly disposed of it and came back to Kiera. She loved how he towered over her, it made her feel feminine, and the way he took her head in both of his hands only added to that feeling. “How about if we come right before recess again? Will that fit into your lesson plans?”
“I can switch some things around. I’ll just move the talk circle to then and we’ll do our math lesson later.”
“Okay. If it’s not a problem.”
“It’s not a problem,” she confirmed.
Cooper leaned down and kissed her gently. He’d kissed her a lot of ways in the last week. Hard, soft, passionate, out of control, teasingly…but she loved the way he kissed her while in public. Easy and gently, with a little bit of tongue, and enough banked passion for her to know he wished he could take her right then and there, but was restraining himself.
She smiled up at him. “See you later.”
“Yes, you will,” he told her. He ran one hand over her hair in a gentle caress before turning and heading out of her classroom into the hall.
Kiera sagged back in her chair and blew out a breath. Whew, Cooper Nelson was lethal…and he was all hers.
Two hours later, Kiera made the “applause” sign along with her students. Cooper and Swede had mesmerized the kids. She’d interpreted for Swede, as he didn’t know sign language, and had laughed as Cooper and the kids teased him for not knowing even the simplest signs. She appreciated the blond man playing along. The pride her students felt in knowing something the big, strong military man didn’t was obvious in their faces, giggles, and puffed-out chests.
She told the kids to get their jackets and to line up for recess and had a quick conversation with Cooper and Swede. “You guys were great. I appreciate you hamming up your lack of communication skills with the kids, Swede.”
“No problem, darlin’. And I wasn’t hamming it up. They definitely know more than me when it comes to ASL.” He turned to Cooper. “And since when did you get so damn fluent?”
Cooper laughed. “Since I’ve been here every day for the last two months. And I’ve been studying at home. And I have the app. And Kiera practices with me, and—”
“Okay, okay, I get your point,” Swede said. “I’m impressed.”
“Me too, if I’m being honest,” Cooper said.
“I gotta go,” Kiera told the men before they could discuss Cooper’s sign language skills further. “It’s my day to monitor recess. I need to get out there.”
“Want some company?” Cooper asked.
“Yours? Absolutely. But I won’t necessarily be able to talk much. I walk around the playground, making sure all is well with the kids.”
“No problem. I won’t get in your way. I might like to play with the kids myself. Swede, you in?”
“Oh yeah. Maybe we can interest some of the kids in a game of kick the can or something.”
“Kick the can?” Kiera asked in disbelief. “Didn’t that game go out of style in the eighties?”
Swede looked a little sheepish. “It’s fun, don’t knock it.”
Kiera giggled. “Whatever. I’ll see you guys outside.”
Cooper, never letting a chance to kiss her go by, swooped down and touched his lips to her cheek quickly. Kiera caught him winking at Frankie after he did it. She simply smiled. She’d never complain about Cooper kissing her, she was just glad he kept it age-appropriate.
She led her students from the classroom and down the hall to the outside door. Once it was open, they all ran out as if the hounds of hell were after them. Kiera smiled. She remembered feeling exactly the same way when she was young.
The schoolyard was surrounded by a chain-link fence to protect the children. There were a few gates around the property, as the intent wasn’t to lock the kids inside, but merely to keep them contained and safe while they were playing. Deaf children couldn’t hear horns honking or other signs of nearby dangers.
Kiera began her walk around the area, smiling at a group of kids playing in the dirt, stopping to push a few students on the swings, and warning an older group of children to be careful as they tossed a basketball at each other.
She smiled at Swede and Cooper. They had collected a group of kids, both older and younger, and had split them into two teams. She had no idea what they were playing, but it looked like a mixture of keep away, soccer, and tag. Whatever rules they’
d made up were a mystery to her, but since everyone seemed to be having a good time, and running off pent-up energy, it didn’t really matter.
Something moved in the corner of her eye and Kiera swung her gaze from her extremely fit boyfriend to whatever it was that had caught her attention. She stared for a long moment, not understanding what she was seeing.
Even before her brain caught up to her eyes, she was moving. Frankie was on the far end of the playground and a woman she’d never seen before was inside the play area. She was average height and slender. Her hair was dark and stringy, hanging limply around her face. Her jaw was set and she looked pissed. Her jeans were tight, but the black T-shirt she was wearing was loose on her frame. She had her hand around Frankie’s biceps and was forcing him to walk toward the open gate. A blue, older-model car was idling in the parking lot in the direction the woman was taking Frankie.
A kidnapping from school grounds was every teacher’s nightmare—hell, it was every person’s nightmare, no matter where it happened. And if she could stop it, or at least get a license plate, she would.
Kiera raced toward Frankie and the mystery woman. She caught up to them just as the woman reached the gate.
“Hey, what are you doing?” Kiera yelled, knowing it was a stupid question because it was obvious what the woman was doing.
She didn’t answer, but pushed Frankie through the gap in the fence and started for the car. Kiera followed and got around the woman. She stood in front of her and asked again, “What are you doing?”
“I’m here to take my son to the dentist.”
Kiera blinked. “What?” she blurted.
“Frankie is my son. He’s coming with me,” the lady said, a little more belligerently that time.
“Is this your mother?” Kiera signed to Frankie.
Instead of signing back, he simply nodded.
Okay then. All the things Frankie’s dad said about his ex raced through Kiera’s mind. She was a drug addict. She was refused custody of Frankie by the courts. She’d been trying to get ahold of Frankie, but his dad had run interference. This wasn’t good.
Kiera quickly glanced back at the playground where she’d last seen Cooper. He was still there, oblivious to what was happening on the far end of the play area. She saw a couple of kids standing on the other side of the fence, staring at her in confusion. They obviously knew it was against the rules to leave the school through the fence. The staff at the school had hammered that home over and over again. All visitors had to come into the school through the main doors and check in. They had to leave the same way.
