Cooper?” His name comes out a croak and I swallow to clear the dryness.
His eyes blink open like he hadn’t realized he’d fallen asleep. He lifts his head, scrubs a hand over his face, then stretches his hands high above his head with a few cracking sounds as he rolls his neck in several slow circles.
He sits up and clears the gravel from his throat before he says anything. “Angel. Are you okay?” He takes my hand between his two larger ones stroking them softly over my flesh.
A wobbly grin starts to spread and I groan at the pain. Reaching up, I gingerly touch the bruises and swollen flesh on my face. “As well as can be expected.” Moaning, I fall back against my pillow. “I feel like I’ve been beaten up.” I chuckle weakly at my attempt at humor. “You’d think I’d be used to it by now.”
His face shutters unexpectedly. “Please, no jokes. I’m not quite ready for that.” His throat works convulsively as he swallows. “How are you feeling?” He peers closely into my eyes, waiting for my response and I see the grimace he tries unsuccessfully to hide as his eyes touch on the large bluish, purplish bruises and angry red cuts scattered over my face. “You don’t have to be strong now. You’re safe.” He releases my hand in order to pour a glass of water, holding it to my lips to quench my thirst and I drink half of it in a single gulp.
“Careful, Angel,” he says, pulling the cup from my lips. “I don’t want you to get sick.”
When I speak, my voice is full of emotion. “I ache everywhere.” I wince. “I’m aching in places I didn’t know that I could, my skin even hurts.” I squeeze his hand tightly when I notice my attempt at humor falls short of the mark once again.
“I’m sorry, Angel. I’m so sorry you were hurt because of me.” His voice cracks on the last word and he shudders, his dark, tired eyes red-rimmed and hooded, and his beautiful mouth thinned into an almost grim line. I can sense the magnitude of his internal struggle. “I’m sorry I didn’t take the threats more seriously.” I watch him speak. I want to see him smile. I need to see him smile. See those delicious dimples crease his cheeks, winking at me happily instead of the mask of defeat he now wears.
I lift my eyes, shimmering with tears. “It’s not your fault, Cooper. He’s crazy. I’m just grateful you got there when you did.”
I watch him squeeze the bridge of his nose between a finger and thumb before he speaks. “He touched you.” His eyes shimmer in return and his Adam’s apple works furiously in his throat. “He fuckin’—touched you.” I barely hear the words over the emotion-filled gruffness of his voice but I see his face twist in anguish and he lowers his eyes, but not before I see the glistening of tears hanging from his lashes. He covers his face and pushes at his eyes.
It takes every ounce of effort I have to not pull the IV’s from my arm and slide out of the bed to kneel at his feet. “Cowboy?”
He stands taking me with him, then sits down on the edge of the bed gathering me in his arms, careful of my IV’s as he presses me tightly against his chest. So tight, I feel the shudder go through him. “I saw the chains and I lost it. I could have killed him.”
I take a moment to snuggle closer to the safety of his warm body. “I’m glad you didn’t.” My words are muffled against his chest. “Because then you would be in jail for murder and there would be a long drawn out trial making it extremely difficult for you and I to spend time together and get to know one another better.”
He pulls away and I look up to see his faint smile and it almost masks the lines of fatigue etched deeply into his face. “Do you want to talk about it?” he prods gently, voice husky with emotion.
“You mean you’re not gonna force me to talk?” I tap my own lips with the tip of my index finger.
“Not today.” A faint smile flits across his drawn face. “But I’ll listen if you’re ready to talk.” His hand presses into my back in reassurance before rubbing in slow, steady circles over my spine.
“Not today.” I snuggle deeper into the crook of his arm, basking in his warmth, strength, and gentleness. “Maybe tomorrow. Today I’m just glad to be alive and to be with you.”
“Are you going to talk to your friends?”
“Maybe.” I look at him with a slight frown. “It makes me a little nervous to tell them—everything.”
“Start slow.” He lets out a deep exhale. “Probably good to have others to confide in. Don’t you think?”
“I’m sure you’re right. As usual.” I roll my eyes. “Probably would kept me outta some of this trouble.”
He touches my nose in one of those ultra-tender gestures. It’s so cute. “You’re probably going to have some nightmares after this.”
“It’s a good thing I’ll have you to comfort me and help make them go away.” I tilt back my head to see him staring off into the distance, lost in his own thoughts. “You sure you want to be around for the fallout that’s sure to come?” I ask him in a small voice, fearful of what his answer might be. Fearful that he might not think I’m worth the work.
He glances down at his watch. “Unless you’ve got somewhere else to be, Angel, I’ve got all the time in the world to wait for you to heal.”
I lay my hand over his tense forearm and his eyes jerk to mine at my touch. “Cooper.” I close my eyes at the intensity that’s reflected in his gaze and I swallow back the lump in my throat.
“I’m afraid you might not want anyone to touch you after what that bastard did to you,” he chokes out.
“I’m sure there are gonna be a few things that set me off for a while, Cowboy, but you’re not one of them. I’m not afraid of you.” I turn eyes haunted with pain towards him. “But I am still concerned that you’re gonna grow bored with me.” I lower my head and my bangs turn to a curtain blocking my eyes, but I can still see him.
His nostrils flare. He reaches up and brushes the hair away from my eyes. “Nothing’s vanilla with you, Angel. I need you. You’re enough for me. Am I enough for you?”
I stare at him, my eyes wide and a shiver races down my spine at the intensity of his question. I know my surprise is unmistakable at the words he’d chosen to use to offer me comfort. My heart seizes in my chest for a split second before I lurch up and sob out, “God yes.” I bracket each side of his face with my hands and place a kiss on his lips and lean back with another sob.
Then his eyes turn even more serious than before. The golden flecks disappear into the dark depths and his fingers gently grip my chin so that I can’t turn from his intense look. “I’ll make love to you in the missionary position for the rest of my life if that’s the only way I can keep you.” I watch his eyes drop to my mouth and then just as fast lift back to my eyes.
My eyes widen and tears gather at his words but I still find it hard to swallow. I think it’s sweet that he’d say that because I know that his appetites lean to the other side. As if he could see the battle going on in my mind, he starts talking again.
“I don’t need silk scarves when I’ve got your silky skin touching my body.” His tongue flicks out and touches the skin above the hospital gown near my shoulder. “And the thought of your hands never touching my body again makes me want to cry.” He lifts one of my hands and lays it flat against his chest so that I can feel the rapid beating of his heart and it helps to calm me. Soothe me. His sigh fills the whole room. “Thank you for not blaming me.” He manages a weak smile. “I sat here a long time blaming myself for the suffering you had to endure because of me.”
“Tell me why you blame yourself?” I tilt my face to his.
A shadow crosses his face, then he begins his story, shocking me with the details. “I’ve been working undercover, in a manner of speaking, at the club. There’ve been rumors of beatings. Beatings beyond the realm of BDSM and missing women that at one time or another had been associated with the club. The TBI was sent in.”
“TBI? Tennessee Bureau of Investigation?” My eyes widen in shock. “So you’re not really the sheriff?” Even I hear the wonder in my voice.
“
No.” His eyes lock on mine.
“Then where’s Gary?”
“He’s taking a much needed vacation.”
“Was Nate part of the trouble?”
He inclines his head. “Part. Remember the other girls I mentioned?”
I nod as Cooper’s thumb continues rubbing in slow circles over the back of my hand.
“There’s at least one more, but we think there’s more than that.”
I push away from his chest, grimacing, sore from my ordeal. I lift my right hand to trail over the scruffiness of his unshaven jaw and I like how it feels. Feels normal and real and good. “So are you still ‘undercover’?”
“Until we nail these guys.” He inclines his head once more. “Yes.”
“What about what happened with Nate?”
His gaze captures mine and I know he wants me to get what he’s saying. “I’m sure they’ll be some disciplinary action.” He says it like it’s not a big deal, but I know differently.
“I’m sorry.”
His eyes flash golden. “I’m not.” He rubs his jaw against my palm like a cat. “I will never be sorry for what that bastard forced me to do.” His lips curve deeper into a full-on smile with dimples and all.
My eyes narrow. “Is Colt a part of this?”
“Your brother is helping out right now.”
“Oh.” I don’t push for more information. I know from Colt, that if it’s work, he’s limited on what he can tell me. “Cooper?” I bite my lip, nervously.
His thumb continues with those mesmerizing circles over the back of my hand he placed over his heart. His head slants in question and my anxiety eases just a little. “Yes, Angel.”
I swallow and it’s painful. The words I want to say stuck somewhere in the middle. The intensity of his gaze makes me even more nervous, so I quickly lower my eyes.
“Angel?”
I swallow again, but fail miserably at releasing the words that are still firmly trapped.
His fingers find their way to my chin and he ever so gently lifts my face until I’m looking him square in the eyes. I sigh loudly as his slightly abrasive thumb starts stroking my jaw and shivers course down my spine.
His mouth curves up in a smile that makes both dimples pop out. “I feel exactly the same way.”
“You do?” I blink my eyes at his words, too surprised to say anything else. My heart is pounding like I’d just crossed the finish line of a 100 meter dash. I hadn’t even told him how I felt. How can he know that he feels the same?
“I do.” A flicker of heat lights up his eyes.
I just continue with my flabbergasted stare.
“I love you, too.”
I feel the tears hit my eyes. I know my mouth falls open as I watch his gaze roam over me, hot and possessive and I know my face is radiant and I can’t help but blurt out with very little pomp and circumstance in reply, “I love you, Cooper.”
He leans down and brushes his lips with mine. Gentle, as if he’s afraid he’ll hurt me or something. I taste his sweetness and smell the spicy muskiness of his skin and just when my body begins to heat and tingle he pulls back.
“There are some decisions that can’t wait another day for an answer.” His voice is deep. His strong, capable, yet gentle hands frame my face and his golden brown eyes bore into mine with a powerful force.
“Is that so?” I swallow, the air around us crackling with desire. I know a puzzled look passes over my face. “Touch me, Cowboy. Let your touch be what I remember. I want your hands to be the last ones that have intimate contact with my body.”
His gaze locks with mine. A mysterious glint flickers in his eyes. He slides his finger down my jaw and over my mouth seizing my chin. His gaze turns dark, then he kisses me. Long, hard, wet. He kisses me so completely that I have no choice but to cling to him. He doesn’t hold back. Every emotion that I’d watch filter across his face was in that kiss and I had no doubts about how he felt when it came to me. When he lifts his head and looks into my eyes, I stretch up, cupping the curve of his jaw and kiss him back just as feverishly.
My time trapped in the dank cabin gave me plenty of opportunity to think about my life. And what the most important aspects were to my future. I found number one to be Cooper. I need him.
He groans against my mouth. “You make me forget about everything and everyone. I have tunnel vision. My body and my mind have both grabbed a hold of you and refuse to let go. I can’t fight it away. I can’t fuck it away. I can’t, Kimberly. Don’t make me.” He claims my mouth, devouring me. Once again hot, wet, and full of raw need. Our tongues clash, urgent, and aroused. His hands slide up to span my ribcage before cupping my breast through the thin fabric of the hospital gown, my nipples puckering, poking into his palms.
He whispers against my mouth. “You are mine. My angel. My savior. My redemption. When I first looked into your eyes. When I first touched your hands. When I first held you in my arms. I became yours.” He captures my lips in a gentle nibbling kiss. “You hold all the power. You are in control. Always have been. From day one I no longer had any say.” He punctuates every word with gentle kisses. One hand glides up between my shoulder blades to hold me impossibly close.
“Don’t stop, Cooper.” Streaks of pleasure shoot directly to my pulsing core, my muscles clench hard, as my eager desire dampens my thighs. I’m shameless, writhing with frustration even after what’s occurred, when suddenly; he dips his head to suck one taut nipple into his mouth, tugging and biting through the gown and I cry out. “Don’t ever stop.” My head falls back and I surrender into his lovemaking. I cry out, shuddering at the decadent feel of his lips when he takes more of my breast in his mouth and my breath hitches. My mouth parts on a soft gasp and I thread my fingers into the hair at the back of his head to pull him closer.
Lost in the sensations, neither of us hears the door open until a voice laced with an abundance of humor says, “I see you’re feeling much better, Kimber.”
With a shriek, I push Cooper away, pulling the blanket up to shield my body and cover the more than obvious wet spots made by Cooper’s mouth. My cheeks flame and my breath whooshes from my lungs.
We both swivel towards the door to find Merrick and Colt propped on either side of the doorframe both grinning like fools.
I blurt out, “Hey guys.” A little too brightly and a little too little too late. They walked in right in the middle of everything.
Merrick’s brow lifts high upon his forehead and I inhale slowly. “Sheriff James saved me.”
“He seems to be a handy kinda guy to have around,” Colt practically sputters out his words with his lips curled into a lopsided grin.
I turn back to Cooper, my hand sliding up his chest. My entire body heating from the inside out at the look in Cooper’s eyes and a fierce grin lights up my face, letting laughter ripple through my voice. “I reckon.”
Epilogue
A gentleman may delicately kiss a lady’s hand, the forehead, or at most, the cheek
I stand with Cooper’s arm draped possessively over my shoulder on the newly paved parking lot behind The House and stare up at the imposing structure that now takes up residence on the once manicured lawn.
“Well, here’s our baby,” Merrick throws out his arm, his eyes beaming with pride.
I glance over at Colt to see the same pride reflected on his face before I allow my eyes to take in every facet of the imposing structure. Three thousand two hundred and fifty-three square feet of delicious golden-age Victorian architecture crumbling to the ground with the appearance of decades and decades of neglect and decay.
The exact opposite of the rigid sexual restraint espoused of its time period to a hedonistic, unrestrained atmosphere of whips, chains, bondage, dominance, submission, and let’s not forget, good ol’ fashioned sex. And I believe a way for my brothers to indulge in their own ‘wickedness’.
“Perfect.” Cooper’s neck is bent back as he stares up at the mock crumbling steeple. He glances back at Merrick and Col
t. “Couldn’t have picked a better façade for the place.”
I smile. It’s actually quite perfect. A faux crumbling steeple lay sprawled almost gloomily on the ground, broken. It has the appearance of a decaying building, destroyed by time, a sorry heap of ivy-covered stones. Dark and dangerous.
Merrick and Colt glance at each and turn back to the building.
“Yep, you’re right, perfect,” Merrick murmurs.
“Wait ‘til you see the inside.” Colt beams with pride.
I reach for Cooper’s hand, sliding my fingers between his and turn them over so that I can see the black script that now decorates the inside of both of our wrists.
His Angel.
MineCowboy.
I lift my eyes with a syrupy smile plastered upon my face to see Cooper smiling down at me, his eyes crinkling at the corners.
“I love you, Angel.” He swoops down and places a quick kiss on my lips.
“I love you too, Cowboy.” Laughter escapes on a melodic sound before I turn to back to my brothers. “Well what are we waiting for?”
Suddenly a stiff breeze assaults us from out of nowhere. The high wind ruffling our hair from behind as if nature itself waited in anticipation for the big wooden doors to be flung open wide.
And with that shit-eatin’ grin that all the Sinclair men have mastered throughout the generations, Merrick grips the black wrought-iron handle and opens the door.
Merrick makes a formal bow before throwing out his arm in the universal gesture for us to enter.
“Welcome to Inferno.”
I throw back my head with a laugh that’s as giddy as any carefree teenagers might be and listen as the sound is carried on the rippling wind.
Author Bio
HADLEIGH STEVENS resides in Tennessee with her husband and a pack of small critters that have taken over every spare inch of her house because she just can’t tell her husband no.
She’s completely obsessed with Pinterest, keeping a journal that’s full of more quotes and phrases than actual musings from her soul, and learning about becoming a Vegan or for those that get uncomfortable with that bad, bad word, eating a plant-based diet. So far, so good.
When You Only Need To Ask (The House of Siin) Page 34
