I Love You

by Shanade White

  Cooper’s heart soared with relief, “Is that the only reason you want to stay?”

  She looked up at him and laughed, “Well, there might be a six feet six inches of blue eyed man in my mind as well.”

  “That’s good to hear, it wouldn’t be the same without you here and I really don’t want to move back to the city.” He said, pulling her down onto her back and leaning on his elbow to look down at her.

  Her eyes widened in surprise, “You’d move back to the city for me?”

  “If I had to yes I would, but I’m glad I don’t have to. We’ll get you and Justin nice and snug for the winter, and if it gets too cold you can come stay with me… I’ll keep you warm.” He said, proving his point by kissing her until she was panting with need, her body flushed with passion.

  When Cooper’s hand slid up under the baggy T-shirt, her breasts were already swollen, her nipples hard and puckered. He found one of those hard nipples with his finger and thumb and bean to gently squeeze, while his mouth ravaged hers, his tongue thrusting into her mouth. She whimpered when his hand left her breast but spread her legs for him when he slid that hand into her pants.

  When he discovered that she hadn’t panties on and the moisture between her legs, he slid his finger across her clit and deep inside her. She broke the kiss, and cried out his name when his thumb rubbed her clit in circles while the finger buried deep inside her slid in and out of her. Her orgasm was so swift and complete that she trembled in his arms for long minutes before her body finally relaxed.

  Cooper nuzzled her neck, then whispered in her ear, “I want to make love to you under the stars.”

  Paige sucked in a ragged breath and nodded her head, then said, “But not on this rock.”

  He helped her get to her feet then picked up the blanket and moved it under a tree where there was a nice layer of pine needles. Once the blanket was spread on the ground, he turned to her and pulled her closer, then reached for her shirt. Trembling, she let him pull it over her head, then he knelt and pulled her pants off, leaving her naked in the light of the moon and stars above their heads.

  He stood then and looked at her, his pupils dilating with desire and his erection pressing against his shorts. Stripping off his own clothes, he opened his arms to her, waiting while she stepped toward him. “You’re so beautiful.” He said, pulling the pins from her hair and letting it fall over her shoulders.

  She ran her hands up and down his chest, then down his stomach to take him in her hands. Stroking him she said, “Not as beautiful as you are.” Then sank to her knees in front of him.

  She actually felt Cooper brace himself, as she slid her mouth over his throbbing cock, groaning when she managed to take all of him in. He wrapped his hands in her hair as she used her mouth to torment him, taking him in all the way then pulling back until only the tip was in her mouth. Finally, unable to withstand the torture any longer, he thrust himself into her open mouth again and again, until he was so close to coming. He abruptly pulled her to her feet and kissed her, waiting for control to return.

  When he knew it was safe to move again, he pulled her down on the blanket and covered her body with his. She immediately spread her legs for him, wanting him to touch her, but instead he began kissing his way down her body, spending long moments on her sensitive breasts. He slid down her body raising goose bumps on her sensitive skin as his heated skin slid over hers. When he slid between her legs, Paige’s heart began beating even harder.

  She’d never trusted a man to do what Cooper was getting ready to do, and she almost reached for him to pull him back up, but he said, “Trust me sweetheart, I want to taste you.” Then ran his tongue between her folds, sending a shower of pleasure though her body.

  When his tongue found her clit and began to stroke her, she nearly came up off the ground as a hard knot of pleasure began to form deep inside her core. She threw her head back, whimpering as Cooper used his tongue in ways she’d never imagined possible. When the pressure became too great, she cried out for release and Cooper slid his finger deep inside her, then slid it in and out. With mind blowing force, her orgasm took her, her body convulsing with the strength of her pleasure.

  Cooper desperate to be inside her, rolled them over and pulled Paige’s legs up until she was straddling him, then drove his hips up while he gripped her hips. He was immediately so deep inside her, Paige cried out his name, unaware that each time she spoke his name it drove him closer to the brink. The fire between them ignited into a flurry of sparks and flames as Cooper drove himself into her over and over again, crying out her name when she matched his rhythm with her hips.

  Completely undone, Cooper reached down to where they were joined, met Paige’s eyes with his and used his thumb to rub her nub in small circles. The added sensation was too much for Paige and with a cry of ecstasy, she crested again, her body clenching tightly around Cooper’s, as she ground her hips into him.

  Cooper let go of his last shred of resistance and emptied himself into Paige, crying out her name as he did. She collapsed on top of him unable to breathe for long seconds, but finally she managed to drag in a ragged breath and said, “That was incredible, thank you.”

  “Mmm, no thank you.” Cooper managed to say.

  They lay tangled together for a long time, neither wanting to break the connection, but finally Paige shivered and rolled off Cooper. “Are you cold?” He asked, his body still radiating body heat.

  “A little, but I’m okay now.” She said, snuggling closer. “I don’t think I’ll ever get cold camping with you.”

  “Not if we do that.” He said, laughing.

  The cold did eventually chase them home, but not before they took advantage of the secluded spot one more time. Hand in hand they walked back to the house feeling like naughty kids sneaking around behind their parent’s backs. After a quick snack, since Paige found that she was hungry again, they went to bed.

  Paige was lying with her head on Cooper’s chest half asleep when he asked, “Do you want to have more kids?”

  She sat up and looked at him, “What brought that on?” She asked, not exactly avoiding the question but putting off answering.

  “I don’t know. I guess I was just thinking about the difference in our ages.” He said, running his fingers up and down her arm.

  “Do you really think that the difference in our ages is a big deal?” She asked, “I always kind of thought you were just joking around.”

  “Well, I mostly was.” He said, shrugging his shoulders.

  “But...”

  “Well, I was just doing the math and oh I don’t know...” He just couldn’t tell her that he’d been thinking how nice it would be to see her pregnant with his child.

  Knowing that he was trying, she decided to help him out a little. Taking his face in her hands, she kissed him then said, “First, I don’t think our difference in age is a big deal. In fact I like the fact that you’re older. Second, I would love to have more kids someday. My only problem is finding someone to have them with.”

  “Oh yeah. Well what if I told you that I might know someone who could do that job for you.” He said, smiling at her, the flipping her onto her back.

  “Hmm, I would probably have to interview them. You know, see if we’re compatible and all that.” She said, licking his neck, then giving him a playful bite.

  “I have it on good authority that the two of you are very compatible.” He said, spreading her legs and sliding inside her.

  “Oh my, if this is an interview I think you might just have the job.” She managed to say when his mouth closed over a tender nipple.

  Chapter 11

  The next morning, they set off for Cedar Ridge early. Cooper was sure that they could make the house next to the church livable for the winter. “It might not be easy to keep it warm, but it’s a small place. You’ll have to operate on a generator, or we might be able to get you some solar panels.” Cooper mused as they rode the four-wheelers into town.

  After they’d
toured the house, they both agreed that it wouldn’t be easy, but it would work for one winter. “I think we’ll be okay. Where is everyone else going to live?” She asked, as they headed home.

  “Marissa has that handled; you’ve been so busy you probably haven’t noticed, but there are cabins popping up all over the woods. We were going to clear the debris from the old cabins, but then we realized that those were historical sites, so we’ve started fresh. For now, they’re very simply designed, but they can all be expanded to accommodate larger families.” Cooper explained, taking a quick detour out of town to where one of the cabins was almost finished.

  “Wow, this is really happening, isn’t it?” she said, impressed.

  “This is just the beginning. Once the water gets back to normal, we’ll start a couple of farms to supply the canyon with fresh food. The school will be up and running this fall; we’re looking at using only solar power, too.” Cooper said, clearly excited.

  “I’ve got to spend some more time learning about what your plans are since it looks like I’m going to be a part of them.” She said, giving him a squeeze from behind as they rode over the bumpy trial back to Honey Hills.

  Paige couldn’t believe how wonderful things had turned out in the end; only a few weeks ago her career was all but over and she was alone. Now she had a man she loved who wanted to have babies with her and soon, life had made one of those wonderful unexpected twists that made it worth living. She couldn’t wait to see Justin and convince him that they should move up here. It wasn’t that far away from her parents and she’d have to make frequent trips to the university so they could see them often.

  She was glad that Cooper wasn’t pushing her to move in with him, understating that everyone needed time to adjust to their relationship. As much as she loved him, rushing things would be a sure way to destroy what they’d built. Justin would need time to get to know Cooper and Brandon, and they needed time to get to know her and Justin too.

  When they got back to the farm house, they decided to make dinner for everyone as a surprise for when they got home. It was a pleasant afternoon spent cooking and talking; they even made some tentative plans for Christmas, grinning at each other as they did. By the time Paige slid the chicken in the oven to bake, the sexual tension between them was at the breaking point, they took the stairs two at a time and fell into bed lost in each other until the over timer chimed.

  After a quick shower, they set the table on the back porch and sat down to wait. Paige was anxious to see Justin and hear all about his big adventure to the city. Luckily, she didn’t have to wait long. Everyone was happy to see Paige back to her old self and they had a nice dinner, complete with desert, which Cooper had made himself. After dinner, the boys went to the family room to play video games, Justin going along with Cooper’s hour rule with only a shrug of his shoulders.

  Once the boys were gone, they talked about the supplies they’d brought back with them for the school when Paige suddenly remembered that Clarissa was supposed to be with them. “Where’s Clarissa? I was looking forward to meeting her.”

  “She’s coming up tomorrow with the moving truck, we had to have them stop and pick up the desks and electronics.” Marissa explained. “We decided that while the park is going to represent life in the 1930s, the school should be as modern as possible.”

  “It was so much fun shopping for the school.” Her mother said, looking wistful. Then looked embarrassed when her phone buzzed in her pocket. “Oh, I’m sorry I thought I turned that off, but that does make me remember something Paige. I got this strange phone call the other day, the man said he was a reporter calling about the find, but then he started asking me questions about someone name Joaquin or something like that. It was strange, and when I told him I didn’t know what he was talking about, he hung up on me.”

  Marissa almost spit out the bite of pie she’d just taken, “Did you say Joaquin?” She asked.

  “Yes, I think that’s what he said.” Her mother nodded her head.

  Marissa jumped out of her chair and ran into the house returning with a stack of papers. Joaquin Murrieta was a bandit back during the gold rush; he was sometimes called the Mexican Robin Hood and a lot of scholars think that Zorro was inspired by his life.” She said, pointing to the pages she’d thrown on the table.

  “So what does that have to do with us?” Scott asked, fairly sure he knew the answers.

  “Well, there are a lot of legends about him stashing his ill-gotten gains all over the mountains in this area. Some historians think that there’s millions of dollars in gold coins buried somewhere up here. One of the most retold legends is that he buried his treasure in a cave under an Indian burial ground, thinking that it would be safe there.” Marissa finished triumphantly.

  “Oh my God. Do you really think it’s our cave? I mean it’s just a legend, no one has ever found any gold in these mountains even with the hundreds of legends that are out there.” Paige said, talking herself out of the crazy idea that was germinating in her mind.

  “I don’t know; they always say that there’s some truth in every legend.” Cooper said, pulling out his phone. “Someone must think that there’s a chance that our cave holds more than just Indian relics and there’s only one way to find out.”

  They listened while he called Calvin and told him to get himself along with a metal detector up to the dig site the next morning. “We’ll just go into the cave and sweep it with the metal detector. If there’s something there, we’ll find it.”

  They all sat in silence for a long time, wondering if it was even possible. Finally, Paige’s training got the better of her and she said, “Marissa can I use your computer to do some research? I’ve got access to papers that you don’t; I might find something more.”

  “Sure, no problem, make yourself at home. You know where it is.” She said, getting up to clean off the table.

  “Oh, I’ll help you first.” Paige said.

  “No go on. I’ve got plenty of help.” Marissa said.

  Hours later, Cooper found Paige still on the computer. The boys had found their way into the room and were quietly playing a game on the floor. “Hey, it’s getting late, Marissa wants to know if we want to spend the night.” He asked, carefully.

  Paige looked up thinking about the offer, she’d been trying to avoid sleeping with Cooper when Brandon was around, and now Justin was here too, but if they put the boys to bed and made sure they were up before them it should be alright she decided. But before she could speak, Justin said, “Can we stay? Brandon and I can sleep in that room with the bunk beds, Marissa said so. It will be like camp except you’ll be here in the morning.”

  “Well, I can’t argue with that.” She said, “But that means that it’s bed time. It looks like we’re going on a treasure hunt tomorrow.”

  The next morning, everyone was up early and eagerly awaiting Calvin’s arrival. They barely let him get out of the truck before they’d pushed him back in and they all headed up the road. Cooper’s house looked lonely sitting there all alone now that the camp had been disbanded. Paige missed the students but was glad that they didn’t have to hide what they were doing. Calvin thought they were crazy as it was, she wouldn’t want her treasure hunt to get spread all over the university.

  By the time, they got the ladder up against the side of the cliff; she was so nervous her palms were sweaty. It was ridiculous, but she could just imagine the stir in the academic world if she found not only an Indian burial ground, but a buried treasure. Shrugging off the silly idea, she climbed up the ladder after Calvin, then waited for the rest of the group.

  It seemed to take Calvin forever to set up the metal detector, but he finally started sweeping the cave, getting no response until he moved to the back of the cave. There in a back corner he got a response so strong the tool practically vibrated in his hands. Cooper was right behind him with a shovel and began to dig right where the signal had been the strongest.

  Within minutes, his shovel struck somet
hing with a loud thwack. Cooper froze, looking around at the group, then continued to dig. It wasn’t long before he’d uncovered a chest the size of a small foot locker. When he reached in and tried to pull the chest out, it wouldn’t budge. Motioning for help, Calvin and Scott grabbed the chest and together they pulled it out of the ground.

  No one spoke as Cooper broke the rusted lock on the chest and pried the lid open. There was a collective gasp when they saw the gold coins inside the chest. They had all known what was going to be inside that chest, but seeing the shimmering metal was breathtaking. It was a long time before anyone spoke, the significance and danger of what they’d just found suddenly clear to them all.

  “Close it up and burry it again.” Paige said, “I remember now that the artifacts in this area seemed more jumbled and damaged than anywhere else in the cave, I bet they were moved then put back to cover the spot.”

  “You want us to bury it again?” Cooper asked, confused.

  “Well, if you thought those artifacts were valuable, think about what that’s worth.” Paige said, “We need to have a plan.”

  That seemed to snap the rest of them out of the stupor the sight of the cold coins had put them in. Together they put the chest back, covered it back up and did their best to make the spot look like it had before. They silently went down the ladder and back to Cooper’s house, so shocked no one had anything to say, except the boys who were chatting happily about bandits and buried treasure.

  As Scott was getting into his car he said, “I’ll call Donovan when we get home and get us some security. Until then, go about your business as if there’s nothing up there. We don’t discuss it with anyone, not even between ourselves.”

  Paige thought that was an excellent idea. “How about I cook us some dinner at your house Cooper, I bet there’s not much to eat at our camp.” She said, striving for normalcy.

  “I have a better idea, let’s go to town and have dinner. I don’t know how much there is to eat at my house either.” Cooper said, “I’m thinking pizza.” Which brought a cheer from the boys and Paige who loved pizza and knew that Cooper was aware of that fact.