Faithful

by S. A. Wolfe

  “You thought I wanted to fuck you tomorrow.” I laugh.

  “That’s what it said!”

  “And then you asked Lauren to decipher it,” I add dryly. “And she figured it out in two seconds.”

  “Yes,” he replies, embarrassed.

  We walk into the house with me still laughing.

  “It’s not that funny, Imogene. I have to meet the guys and finish the paint job.”

  “I know. Cooper told me about the plans for today. Don’t worry; I’ll take care of Lauren. Is she still throwing up?”

  “Like clockwork, and she won’t take a break to rest.” Leo looks concerned.

  “Leo,” I say, putting my hand on his shoulder. “I can go help finish the paint job and you can stay here with Lauren.”

  He sighs. “She wants me to go. You know how Lauren is; she thinks she can work all day and night. I’m really regretting that I agreed to let her throw together a wedding before the baby is born. I should have insisted on getting married in some local judge’s chambers or waiting until after the birth.”

  “Oh, sweetie, you know you can’t insist on anything when it comes to your lovely bride. She’s very stubborn and thinks she’s always right.”

  “I know. God, I love her, but the idea that she can plan a wedding and expand the business while she’s growing a human being inside of her is completely insane.” He sounds angry and desperate. “I’m responsible for her welfare, and I’m not doing a very good job.”

  “It takes two, so you need to talk to her about loosening the reins. I’ll talk to her about her workload, though. I’ll take over more of her To-Do list, and you focus on getting her going to bed earlier. We have to be tougher on her.”

  “Do you know anyone who has ever been able to boss her around?” He looks so sweet and childlike.

  “No. God knows I’ve tried, but she’s immune to my powers. We’ll do it together and get the parents onboard, though.”

  He looks unconvinced as I send him off to work with the Viking I’m daydreaming about.

  I float upstairs, and sure enough, Lauren is sitting at the computer, scrolling through vendor lists.

  “Lauren, I’ll do that today, and I’ll pack up the supplies for the move.”

  She swivels the chair around and smiles when she sees Cooper’s huge shirt hanging on me. “You had a great date, didn’t you? You like Cooper.”

  “Yes, it was very nice. Now get up. I’m calling the accounts today, and I’m going to let them know I’m sending them photos of our new stock.”

  Lauren lets me have the computer and then plants herself on a stool at the worktable. “Give me the details,” she says eagerly.

  “Dinner was nice, and the conversation was fun,” I say, looking at the computer monitor.

  “Imogene, you spent the night at his house. Are you as crazy about him as he is about you?”

  “Crazy?” I ask, turning around. “Let’s not get carried away. We like each other. Have you noticed that I haven’t said one snide thing about him in almost a week?”

  “Yes. I think you kind of fell for him at the dance class.”

  “No one is falling for anyone,” I say, returning to the client list in front of me.

  “He’s not immature like Jeremy or stupid like some of those other guys, Imogene. Cooper is a nice guy, and he’s been interested in you for a while.”

  “Lauren, please don’t sell me on Cooper. I get that he’s a nice guy. I experienced it firsthand … the gift to us and on that stupid hike. And I agree that he’s a fun guy to be paired up with for a wedding. Thanks for that. And dinner was fun, and being with him last night was great. I like him. But I’m not going to blow this out of proportion.”

  “All right,” she says glumly. “At least tell me he got you out of your dry spell and you had mind blowing sex.”

  “The sex was out of this kcuffing world.”

  Lauren exhales a big sigh and smiles. “A new romance. Can I be a teeny bit excited for you?”

  “If you promise to go take a nap right now, I’ll let you be excited for me. You have bags under your eyes and look like you haven’t been eating. I’m serious. I promised Leo I would get you to relax more for the sake of your health and the baby.”

  “Fine. I’ll go rest, but—”

  “I’ll call the stores, pack the supplies, and follow everything else on your list.” I hold up her notepad.

  “Are you seeing Cooper tonight? Can I cook dinner for the four of us?” She’s getting revved up again.

  “You are impossible. Go take your nap, and you are not hosting dinner parties for the next few months. Leo and I will be doing the cooking.”

  For the next several hours, an uncharacteristic optimism takes over me. I pack necklaces that need to be shipped to retailers including a display set for Sasha’s in SoHo. I call on new vendors, our least favorite part of the job. I update the website with new products and put together moving boxes to transport our supplies to the new building.

  When I go to check on Lauren, she’s half dozing in bed with a laptop next to her, unable to stop herself from working. I put the computer on her dresser and then watch as she rolls over and falls into an early evening slumber.

  I’m still wearing my date outfit and hate to take off Cooper’s shirt, but I need clean clothes, so I change into long shorts and a collared blouse to cover my bruises. I hold his shirt up to my face and inhale his musky, manly scent. It reminds me of last night and everything he did from the restaurant scene to his bedroom. I shiver in delight.

  Thinking of Cooper makes me smile and feel thrilled in a way I haven’t felt in years. It’s more than a happy or excited feeling, too. My emotions are overwhelming, and there isn’t one pessimistic thought to bring me back to reality, which in itself is inspiring for a skeptic like me.

  I drape his shirt on the back of my bedroom chair, wanting to make sure it doesn’t get cleaned and lose his scent until I have to give it back. I’m turning into one of those gushy, crazy girls that collect mementos of a man—insane hero worship. I shake that image off when I hear a ruckus downstairs. Someone slams the front door and male laughter floats upstairs to the third floor. Cooper. My insides do a back flip.

  As I leave my bedroom, I see Cooper jogging up the stairs. I freeze and take in the sight of him: his paint-splattered jeans and T-shirt, his broad chest and shoulders that I spent a good portion of the previous night clinging to, and his magnetic smile.

  “Hi!” I sound exactly like Samantha and Kelly, the high-pitched, lovelorn teenagers from the Cooper fan club.

  “Hey, beautiful. Lauren told me you were up here.” He closes in on me with a big up-to-no-good grin.

  “She’s supposed to be napping.”

  “She’s downstairs with Leo, putting away groceries. He’s making sandwiches for dinner, and I said I’d notify you. Consider this your notice.” He pushes me back into my bedroom and swings the door closed.

  It takes two seconds for my brain to register that I have Cooper in my bedroom. I waste no time jumping him. I throw my arms around his neck and wrap my legs around his waist. He holds me tightly by the ass, and we kiss frantically to make up for the eight hours we were separated.

  “Leo said dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes,” he murmurs against my lips. He smells like sweat, paint, and a hint of sun-soaked skin.

  I feel myself getting wet as the lusty, crazy-ass thoughts take over my libido. I’m too busy devouring his mouth and feeling him up to respond. Cooper doesn’t stop kissing me as he lays me on the bed and undoes his jeans. I wriggle my shorts and panties off and reach for his cock.

  With one hand, he pulls a foil package from his pocket before letting his jeans fall to the floor. He tears it open with his teeth and quickly rolls it on his length, which is fisted in my hand.

  “You have to let go of me, Imogene, so I can get this on.” His tone is authoritative and urgent.

  I reluctantly le
t go, and in seconds, Cooper has the condom on and is positioning his cock to enter me. He holds both of my legs up as he stands and plunges into me with powerful, ungraceful thrusts. Short on time and high on sexual tension, our unabated cravings send us into a flurry of flailing limbs.

  I grip the bedspread as Cooper leans over me, hitching his arms under my thighs to quicken his pounding pace at the perfect angle and with the perfect amount of friction. I grab his shoulders and hold on as he slams into me with deep, ferocious grunts, his expression fierce as his gaze never breaks contact with mine. He’s waiting for me to come, and just when the tornado of spasms begin to take hold of me, he loses control and jerks and shudders his way through his orgasm.

  Instead of pulling out of me, he puts two fingers against my clit and helps me climax. By the time I find the rainbow at the end of the yellow brick road, I’m squirming and moaning his name. When Cooper drops down on his hands and kisses me long and slow, capturing my remaining moans, I bite his lower lip good and hard.

  “Ouch,” he laughs.

  “That’s what you get for giving me hickies everywhere.”

  “I can’t help myself when I’m around you.” He smiles and pulls out of me before grabbing a tissue from the nightstand and wrapping the condom in it.

  “I had no idea how horny I was until I saw you running up those stairs.” I pick my clothes up off the floor and dress quickly.

  “I was horny all day long thinking about you. I even tried to get Leo to come back here for lunch so I could take you to bed, but he wanted to get the paint job done. Geez, I was ready to punch the guy.”

  I laugh. “His fiancée is throwing up; he’s not getting any action right now.”

  Cooper buttons his jeans and yanks me against him. “I think our fifteen minutes are up, but you should come back to my place after dinner. You can pack a suitcase.”

  “A whole suitcase? Ah …”

  “Why not? I thought this was the plan. We work all day and get together tonight. You can keep some stuff at my place.” He studies my face with a questioning look.

  “Let’s have dinner, and then we’ll discuss logistics,” I say, leading him out of the bedroom.

  “That doesn’t sound encouraging,” he says as we walk downstairs.

  “Cooper, I can’t think straight after what we just did. I need food.”

  “Just because I want to chain you to my bed, it doesn’t mean I won’t feed you.”

  “Quiet!” I whisper-yell as we make it to the first floor. I hope Lauren didn’t hear Cooper’s remark, or I’ll be interrogated.

  As we enter the kitchen, Lauren looks up from the table and straight at Cooper’s hands that are holding my waist. She smiles and arches an eyebrow at me.

  “Leo, let me help you,” I say, pulling away from Cooper’s grasp.

  I hear him huff behind me, but I jump in to help Leo plate the sandwiches and toss a salad as though my presence is critical. Perhaps it’s the sudden interest from others, putting Cooper and I under a microscope, that makes me apprehensive about this potential relationship. Dinner and sex don’t confirm that it’s an actual relationship, and Cooper and I are still in the getting-to-know-you stage. After fourteen months of GTKYS, no wonder we’re going at it like rabbits.

  The four of us have a nice, dinner at the small kitchen table, during which we stick to analyzing the dance lessons, Leo’s camping plan—which I’m still against—the church plans for the ceremony, and the hotel ballroom for the wedding reception. Cooper either has his hand on my thigh or on the back of my chair throughout the meal.

  When I sneak sideways glances at him, he gives me little smirks. Leo is oblivious or doesn’t care, but Lauren is watching us dead on. When we excuse ourselves to go out to the porch, Lauren winks at Cooper and I catch him giving her a chin tip.

  “What was that about?” I ask when we’re alone on the porch. “That little wink and nod thing between you and Lauren.”

  “She’s my friend,” he says nonchalantly as he opens my collar to inspect his handy dandy bite marks. “She’s been trying to hook us up for a while but didn’t know how to do it without you killing her in her sleep. Those were her words.”

  “Is that why we’re coupled up for the wedding? Was this planned? Because I kind of wondered why Dylan isn’t the best man, no offense.”

  “Gee, none taken. Leo and I are closer I guess. Dylan has really invested all of his time into his new life with Emma, and Dylan agreed that I should be the best man. Do you have a problem with this?” His fingers caress my neck.

  “Not at all, but it’s kind of strange that I didn’t know you and Lauren were so close and talking about me behind my back.”

  “We weren’t saying anything bad about you. If anything, I was pretty direct with Lauren, telling her I was very interested in you.”

  “It’s amazing Lauren didn’t say anything to me. She can’t keep secrets, and I can always count on her spilling the beans.”

  “There were no beans to spill, really. I talked to you every time I went into the diner for lunch. You worked damn hard at responding to all of my compliments with insults. So, are you going to pack a bag and come over to my place? I need to clean up and get out of these work clothes.”

  I like the fact that he’s thought about plans for us, and the way he says it without any reservations, but I’m also aware that for once I’d like to slow things down to a realistic pace. I can’t have sex all night long and run on no sleep and try to work all day. Lauren and I have received a generous loan from Carson and Archie, and I’d feel like I’m playing fast and loose with investment money instead of learning to live with some serious structure in my life. That’s one concern.

  The other is that Cooper may get tired of me by the end of the week, and that would be very awkward dancing with him at the wedding along with sharing mutual friends in a very small town. I don’t want to be the woman a guy takes for a long test drive. I want to be the woman who is chosen. Whether it’s with Cooper or some other man I have yet to meet, I should slow this down.

  “Well?” he asks, becoming agitated with my silence. “It’s Saturday night, come to my place.”

  “But we’re moving things over to the new building tomorrow. You said so at dinner … and Cooper, neither of us has really slept.”

  “Shit, you’re blowing me off tonight?” His nostrils flare as he glares at me.

  “No, I’m cooling us off.”

  “It’s not working,” he says as he puts my hand on the very hard bulge in his jeans.

  I take a deep breath because, honestly, I’d like nothing better than to spend the night in his bed, rolling around naked as he pleasures me in every way possible.

  “Cooper, I’ve done this before, where I latch on to someone and we move like the speed of light and end just as quickly,” I explain to the hulking man before me who is many women’s fantasy come to life. Maybe I’m a moron, but I actually believe there’s something to taking our intensity down a notch. “If this goes caput and someone gets hurt—likely me—then it would be a very uncomfortable situation for us and our friends. I want to prevent that from happening.”

  “First of all, you can’t necessarily prevent that. People break up after one year, ten years—they get divorced all the time. Second, this is about me; you still have some doubts about me. I’m not about to hurt you, though.” His tone is stern, and he sounds offended.

  “It’s like we’ve unleashed the Kraken. From now on, every time we’re together, it’s going to be about sex.”

  Cooper shakes his head. “No. I like being with you even when we’re not naked.”

  “Me, too. I think we should spend more time getting to know one another before we decide to spend every waking moment screwing. I like them both, but they are not the same thing.”

  He nods and his expression softens. “I understand. It’s normal to have some concerns about me or us since this is new.” As he leans against the porch
railing, his phone buzzes.

  He takes it out of his pocket to inspect the incoming number. “Do you mind if I take this?” His tone is somber.

  “Not at all.”

  “It’s me,” he says into the phone with his head down.

  There is a minute of silence as he listens to the caller, his expression stone cold.

  “I understand. Bye.” He puts his phone back in his jeans pocket and looks out into the evening sky.

  “Is everything all right?” I ask as his attention drifts off into something distant.

  He turns back to me and lets a sigh of relief escape as he studies my face for a moment. “It’s nothing. Just my sister with her usual complaints.”

  There’s an awkward silence because I don’t know how to respond. I don’t know his sister or the issues between them. “Anything you want to talk about?”

  “No, it’s not important. I need to go home and shower, and you need some rest.” He smiles, but it seems contrived for my benefit.

  “Good,” I say softly. “So we’ll both get a good night’s sleep.” When I stroke his cheek, he captures my hand and holds it to his face.

  “Yes. I’m going to get some sleep. I’ll have to jerk off thinking about you, the X-rated version, but I’ll sleep.”

  “Oh,” I say, blushing.

  He takes my hand off his cheek and kisses it before letting it go. “I understand the fear, and I’m also confident that I’ll eventually be able to fuck that fear right out of you … Im-o-gene.”

  Eighteen

  Cooper arrives early, freshly showered and invigorated without a trace of his quiet distancing from the night before. I also notice that he’s wearing very nice jeans; clean, casual boots; and a trendy T-shirt he would not wear for painting or work. I’m guessing he’s planning to do something with me after we unload everything at the new studio building.

  He greets me with a chaste kiss and a dazzling smile. I’m waiting for the birds and forest creatures to sing a cheery song for us, but there’s no time for that. Cooper is directing this operation. He has Leo, Dylan, and Carson load tables, boxes of jewelry supplies, display cases, and cabinetry into Carson’s and Leo’s trucks. Once everything is loaded, they head off while Lauren and I follow them in her car.