by Megan Derr
"This isn't going to help get the clothes off," Dai said, getting the words out between kisses. He let his head fall to the side as Cooper went to work on his neck, leaving a throbbing mark before he drew back enough to strip off the t-shirt. Dai made a soft, approving noise. "Much better. But there's room for improvement."
Cooper rolled his eyes and climbed back off the bed, unfastened his jeans, and pushed them and the boxers beneath right off.
Dai definitely wanted some of that. He crawled toward Cooper, nuzzled against his soft skin for a moment, then lapped and licked teasingly at his cock until an impatient growl and a hand in his hair urged him to get on with business. Looking up briefly through his lashes, Dai happily slid his mouth over Cooper's cock, sucking hard, tongue working the bottom of it. He slowly took more and more, until his jaw began to ache with the effort and he just knew he was going to be a bit hoarse in the morning.
And Jet would never in a million years let him live it down, but Jet would also shut up in a hurry because their lists of blackmail material were equally long. The rest of the band was a different problem, and not one he was concerned about at present.
Cooper groaned, fingers clenching and loosening and clenching again in Dai's hair as his hips began to thrust the barest bit. Dai shifted his balance enough to get one hand wrapped around Cooper's hip and dug his nails in, let him know it was fine to do whatever he wanted.
Not much for hesitating or doubting, Cooper took him at his word and began to fuck Dai's mouth. It didn't last long after that, and fuck if Dai didn't love the way Cooper said his name, all soft and shuddery, right before he came. Dai took it all, swallowing every drop, and slowly pulled off Cooper's softening cock—and yelped as he was abruptly manhandled. Large, eager hands stripped off his clothes, casting them aside before turning Dai around so he sprawled on the bed in only his panties.
A moment later he felt Cooper crawl onto the bed, heard the soft click of a bottle opening. The hand that had rested warm and heavy on his back vanished, but Dai knew better than to move.
"I like the lavender," Cooper said, voice husky. He dropped a kiss at the base of Dai's spine, right above the edge of the lavender lace panties trimmed in black velvet ribbon that came together in a little bow in the middle.
Dai shivered as Cooper withdrew completely, anticipation leaving him hot and restless. He jumped slightly when the fingers returned, pushing into the panties and teasing at his hole. They were warm, slick, and knowing. Cooper's soft, pleased noises and teasing mouth kicked feverish need up to mind-melting must have.
By the time Cooper worked a third finger into him, Dai was on the verge of coming apart. A few long, agonizing minutes later, when Cooper softly whispered against his shoulder than he should, he came screaming Cooper's name. And he didn't give a damn if the whole city heard him.
He collapsed panting on the bed. "You keep messing up my fancy underthings, Cowboy, I'm going to start making you buy them—and they doesn't come cheap."
"I'll buy you whatever you want, honey, and gladly." Cooper stretched out next to him on the bed, folding one arm behind his hand and lazily caressing Dai with the other. "But it ain't my fault if a few other things fall in the cart."
Dai's brows shot up at the way Cooper's ears went red. "Oh, ho, someone's been sitting on some ideas instead of sharing with the class."
"Sharing now, ain't I?" Cooper muttered.
"Sort of," Dai said with a snicker. "Whatever it is, it had better fall in the cart now. Curiosity will kill me otherwise."
Cooper's hand stilled. "You know you don't—"
"If I don't want to wear something, I won't," Dai cut in, leveraging up enough to lean over and drop a kiss on Cooper's mouth. "But I have a kink or whatever of my own here. I'll probably wear it. Look at everything else I wear—on and off the clock. 'It's for girls' is a really stupid reason not to wear something."
Cooper smiled, curled fingers in his hair, and dragged him into a long, soft kiss. "I think—" He broke off as a cheerful tune filled the room and scowled. "Who could that be?"
"Better question is: what is that horrendous ringtone?" Dai asked, shifting away so Cooper could get up.
"It's some commercial jingle I couldn't get out of my head. For some soap, I think," Cooper replied as he rolled out of bed and walked over to the bureau where he'd dropped his phone, wallet, and passport. "Who in the world would be calling? I told them I was taking off for a few days…" His frowned deepened as he picked up the phone. "Hell, it's Henry."
"Hope she's okay," Dai said, sitting up.
Cooper answered the phone. "Hey, darling—what's wrong?" Cooper's frown cut even deeper into his face, then abruptly twisted into a pinched, angry scowl. "If Jake was wondering what I've been up to, maybe he should be talking to me. I'm sorry they came by and bothered you. The kids okay? Nah, don't tell anyone a damned thing. I ain't done nothing wrong, and—it don't matter. I'll be home in a few days and deal with Jake and the damned lawyers then. They come back, you tell them that. Then you tell them to get the hell off my property." He was silent a couple of minutes. "It'll be all right, Henry. I'm sorry you been dragged into this mess. Call you when I land. Thanks, bye."
Cooper set his phone back down on the bureau, but in the slow, measured way of someone who really wanted to throw the damned thing across the room.
"What's wrong?" Dai asked quietly, pulling off his ruined panties, throwing them with the rest of his clothes in a messy pile beside the bed. He stood and closed the small distance between them, curled a hand around Cooper's bicep before slowly trailing down to hold his hand.
Shaking his head, squeezing Dai's hand, Cooper said, "I don't right know except Jake showed up at my house out of nowhere accompanied by a couple of the band's lawyers. They asked a bunch of questions. Henry says Jake seemed to be there to make nice and such. Kept pressing her about where I been the past several months, asking specifically about a bunch of times I know I was with you. Some others that I can't recall just now. She says they didn't say a peep as to why. I dunno." His hand tightened, and he lifted the other one to rake through his hair, rub the back of his neck. "Don't understand why Jake wouldn't just talk to me. Hell, I went to see him right before I left to come here, said I'd be gone a few days on some personal business. Asked him to help Henry out, keep an eye on things for her when she needed it 'cause Dominic was going to be coming around, and he's taken to talking bad about her to the kids. If something was bothering him, he coulda asked me about it, he knows that. Or he could have said the lawyers want a word. Why wait til I'm gone?"
"Because they're building a case against you and wanted to question the people closest to you while you're too far away to do anything about it," Dai replied.
"They don't even know where I am."
Dai shook his head. "Don't count on that. It wouldn't be hard for good lawyers to figure that out. Hell, Jake could figure it out if he tried hard enough. That's assuming the press doesn't—"
The phone started ringing again, and Cooper's expression went from angry to murderous. "My mother. If they're—" He broke off, swearing, and answered the phone. "Hey, Ma. What—no, I don't know what's going on, but you can tell Jake we gonna have some words when I get back. No, I ain't coming back early. Didn't do nothing wrong, won't act like I did. If he had something to say to me, shoulda said when he saw me, not waited till I was gone and harassed my family. Did you tell him where I was? Thanks, Ma. Love you. Give my best to the others. Bye now."
He did slam the phone on the bureau that time. "Damn it."
"Is this—Did I get you into trouble? I mean, you and me being a thing, you sneaking around to see me." Dai worried his bottom lip, stared at where their hands were still clasped. "I'm sorry."
Gentle fingers titled his chin up, a calloused thumb pushing his teeth away, running over Dai's lip in their place. Cooper leaned down to kiss him softly. "You got nothing to be sorry about, darling. None of their questions mentioned you, so I don't think that's it. Even if
it was to do with us, they got no business going around harassing and scaring everyone. It ain't like Jake to behave this way. I don't get it."
"Is there anything I can do to help?" Dai asked. "It's not illegal to be friends, and you were with me all those times they're asking about—"
"It's fine," Cooper cut in, letting go of Dai's hand. He scrubbed his hands over his face, then raked them through his hair again, leaving it going in every direction but the right one. "I'll sort it out when I get home. I came here to see you, not get stressed over some stupid misunderstanding, which is probably what this all boils down to."
Dai's mouth flattened. "The way they're acting, especially Jake, this isn't as simple as a misunderstanding, or at least, it's a big enough one he's letting the lawyers do what they want no matter how he feels about their methods."
Cooper shook his head. "I'm sure it's—"
"No." Dai grabbed his hands, pulled him in close. "I'm serious, Cooper. People don't stop talking to their friends and bring in lawyers over stupid little things. They think you've done something serious. It might be a misunderstanding—obviously, since you haven't done anything wrong—but it's bad enough for lawyers and nosy questions. Jake's not stupid, right? He has to know this is drawing lines in the sand. If he's really your friend, he has to know what this looks like, how you'd feel. Why? You need to be ready. Do you have your own lawyers?"
Cooper shook his head. "Never needed them past stuff related to the band. Had one, back in my rodeo days, but he's retired…"
"I'll give you Jason's number. He can be an ass, but he's good at his job and never lets a client down. If he can't help you, he'll find the person who can."
"That ain't necessary, Dai. I'm telling you, it's something stupid. Jake is acting like a fool, but once I'm home I'll get it straightened out. Just leave it the hell alone."
Dai jerked back, stung. "I'm just trying to help. I'm telling you—"
"And I said leave it," Cooper snapped.
"Why won't you let me help?" Dai asked. "I grew up in a family of lawyers. My dad and brother are two of the best on the east coast. You can ask around—my brother practically has a waiting list of clients who would love to have him as their entertainment lawyer."
Cooper drew back, shaking his head so hard Dai was half-surprised his teeth didn't rattle. "I'm not going to get a lawyer and start treating my best friend like an enemy."
"Why the fuck not That's what he's doing to you." Dai reached out, stung anew when Cooper withdrew to well out of touching range. "Fine. Do whatever the hell you want." Turning away, he went to his bag and pulled out clothes, then carried it all into the bathroom.
And totally wasn't disappointed when Cooper didn't stop him or say something or pop his head in or something. Anything at all would have been better than the fucking silence.
When he came out, dressed in purple lace panties, skinny jeans, and a plain black t-shirt, Cooper was laying on the bed, face down, turned away from Dai. "Get another call?"
"Yeah, this time from reporters," Cooper replied. "Took a ten minute search to see rumors are flying of me leaving the band, and whether I quit or was fired."
Dai scowled. "That's fucking shitty of them, to not even fucking talk to you before they go letting things leak. Somebody deserves to be kicked in the goddamn face. Seriously, you should call my damned brother."
"I'm not leaning on you to fix my problems, and I still think this will all be cleared up easy once I get home."
"It's not leaning on me," Dai said, throwing the towel he was holding on the floor and barely repressing an urge to stamp on it. "We're lovers! Partners! We're supposed to fucking help each other out. But fine, whatever, I'm not going to keep arguing." He drew a breath then blew it out on an irritated huff. "But you should head back."
Cooper's head shot up at that. He turned over on the bed. "I'll be damned if I cut short—"
"You've already got reporters coming after you. If you stay here, the matter will just keep getting worse. They'll take the way you're ignoring it as confirmation of guilt. You should go home and sort this out before it spirals out of control. And what happens if all those people gunning for a story spot you here with me? I seriously doubt you want rumors of you and the band turning into rumors of you and me."
Cooper's mouth tightened. "I kept quiet about us to protect the band. And my privacy, but largely the band. What's the point if they're gonna act like this?"
Dai hesitated because being out and open with Cooper would solve so many problems, but that was also selfish as fuck. "You don't want to come out like this and you know it. Go home, Coop. Figure out what's going on." He went over to his discarded jeans and dug out his wallet, opened it, and pulled out one of the cards he always kept there. "I know you already told me to fuck off, but if you change your mind, this is Jason's private number. Just tell him what's going on and he'll help. He has no patience for backstabbing bastards." He smiled crookedly. "It's one of the many reasons we don't really get along. Okay?"
"Why do you make it sound like you're leaving?" Cooper's frowned cut deeper into his face as he sat up and moved to the edge of the bed. "I'm sorry for earlier. I'm just… feeling a bit lost at sea." He reached out and snagged Dai's wrist, and Dai didn't have it in him to resist being reeled in.
He combed his fingers through Cooper's hair, pressed Cooper's head to his stomach, and kissed the top of it. "You need to get to the airport, Cowboy. Best if I get the hell out of here before the press makes things harder for you than they already have."
"Damn it," Cooper said, sounding about one second away from breaking. "I wanted to spend time with you. And I know it's my own damn fault I can't—"
"No!" Dai burst out. "It's not your fault. You're allowed to be as private as you like. It's society that's to blame right now. And I'm sorry if all of this comes back to you sneaking around to be with me."
Cooper pulled him down so Dai was sitting in his lap, kissed him softly. "If I ain't allowed to be sorry, you aren't either, darling. I'll figure this out and make damned sure it won't be a problem in the future."
Dai took one long, last, searing kiss and then pulled away. "Get going. I'm sure you can catch a flight back tonight."
"Ugh, I'm so sick of planes. They ain't made for people who ain't as tiny as you." But he gathered up his things and slung his bag over his shoulder. "I'll see you soon, darling."
Dai nodded. "You know it." He watched Cooper leave, a stone lodged in his chest, eyes burning and his throat so raw it almost hurt to swallow.
Damn it. He wanted to hit something. Instead, Dai waited until Cooper had been long gone, then let himself out of the room and managed to sneak out a side door of the hotel. He was pretty damned sure he saw a camera flash at some point, from the corner of his eye, but he just kept his head down and continued walking.
The suite was quiet when he got back—except for the asshole who popped up over the edge of a tiny sofa, suspicion and surprise on his face. "What the fuck are you doing back already? I was pretty sure we wouldn't see you for a couple of days." He frowned and hopped neatly over the couch. Reaching Dai, Jet grabbed his shoulders and hauled him in, hugging him tight. Dai slumped against him. "What's wrong?" Jet asked quietly.
"Just—I knew it was all going to blow up in my face eventually, and it has, sort of."
"I doubt it's as bad as you're making it out to be," Jet said, pulling back, squeezing his arms and smirking faintly. "Even I didn't know Cooper Stone was gay until tonight."
Dai jerked in Jet's arms, then slumped. He'd known Jet would figure it out, but hadn't expected him to do it quite that fast. He looked up with a scowl.
Jet grinned. "If you've managed to hook that, I'm sure you've got it reeled in and ready to take to market. And by market I mean bed."
"You're giving me a headache," Dai replied, pushing him gently away. "First off, how the heck did you figure it out so fast? Is it all over the news? Because I swear to god if some fucking reporter just added this stress�
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"Woah, woah, dial down the protective boyfriend. There's no need for murder charges yet," Jet said with a laugh. He ruffled Dai's hair, then backed away, laughing harder. "No, it's one hundred percent me and my nosy tendencies. I did some poking around, actually thought you might be sleeping with someone from Hard Play for about an hour—"
"As fucking if. Say that again and I'll knock your lights out so hard you stay down a week."
Jet snorted. "Anyway, it was all the tabloids flying about Cooper leaving Shine the Moon that tripped it. I remember that dinner forever ago where you made eyes at him, and how you both stayed behind. Once that idea was in place, I started looking harder."
"If it was that easy for you, I'm actually sort of horrified that the press has gotten so shitty at their investigative abilities." Dai slumped on the couch. "Though at least Coop isn't being forced to come out. I hate when people take that choice away from somebody. It's not any of their fucking business."
"Amen." Jet dropped down next to him and handed him a soda. "So why aren't you with sexy fiddle man?"
Dai made a face and told him the whole story. "I'm worried sick that when it comes down to it, this is the end. Who chooses the secret lover of a matter of months over an entire life?" He wanted to believe Cooper would, with all this heart, but soft reassurances didn't erase the way Cooper had recoiled and pushed him away the moment it all started blowing up. "Maybe I'm just being paranoid."
"I think you won't let it go until it's gone, for better and worse," Jet said with a smile. "And you know I'll help you, be it wooing Mr. Rodeo or kicking his stupid ass. So what's the game plan?"
"Lawyer," Dai said. "He wouldn't fucking listen to me because he's legit noble and shit, but he needs a lawyer who's going to have his back. And I know the perfect one."
Jet grinned, slow and evil. "Your brother is going to kill you."
