Claiming Cooper (O'Loughlin Brothers Book 1)
Page 24
Standing up next to me, in black tuxedos with denim blue vests, were Storm and Ashton. The early fall weather favored us, a gentle breeze kept sweat from beading on my brow. The sun shone brightly in the sapphire blue skies, not a cloud in sight to darken our day. The backdrop to our altar was acres of trees decorated with turning leaves in varying hues of red, green, brown, and gold.
The slow music began to play and down the aisle first was Heather. Kinsley had convinced her to start riding about six months ago and they had been best friends ever since. Next came Anna in the same short, denim blue, strapless dress that stopped just above their tan cowgirl boots.
Everything got quiet and seventy-five of the family and friends we invited stood up from their white chairs and turned to face the closed barn doors. Waiting for those doors to open, my heart climbed my throat and my palms began to sweat. Over the speakers, the wedding march started to play, signaling Ryan and Ethan to slide back the barn doors.
When those red doors slid open, my whole world appeared before me and everything else faded away. My eyes only saw her.
Kinsley Elizabeth Allen.
Dressed in a gorgeous white gown with little beads that sparkled in the sun, she took my breath away. Her hair was done up in curls and sitting on top of her head was the tiara Storm had bought for her a few months ago. Her arm tucked under her father’s, he led my princess down the aisle to me. My whole world was wrapped up in her. When they stopped in front of me, Kins smiled tightly and her eyes glistened.
“Remember, I have clients who will gladly bury your body if you hurt her,” Philip leaned over and warned quietly as he stood between us while the preacher asked who gave her away. “Her mother and I.”
Taking her petite hands in mine, my heart felt like it was going to hammer right out of my chest. “You look absolutely beautiful, baby.”
“You look pretty handsome yourself,” she said, glowing like a candle on a dark night.
After a lot of talking and prayers, we got to the good stuff.
I hadn’t done much in the way of the wedding planning, but I did have a surprise for her.
“Foregoing traditions and as a surprise to Kinsley, Cooper has written the vows they will make to each other today,” the preacher announced. I reached inside my jacket and produced a white piece of paper, holding it out to Kinsley.
“Cooper,” she said, waving her hand in front of her face. She did that when she was going to cry and didn’t want to. I didn’t get it; it didn’t stop her from crying, but she did it anyway.
“I memorized them.” I cleared my throat and reached out to stop her flailing hand. “Kinsley, I vow to love you more with each passing day, be honest and sincere, to listen to you, and to be faithful to you and only you. I promise to take care of you no matter what. I will always put you, and hopefully one day our children, first. I promise you this from today until the day I take my last breath.” I slipped the simple platinum band on the fourth finger of her left hand.
“Cooper.” Her smile shined like never before. She glanced down at the paper in her hand. “I vow to love you more with each passing day, be honest and sincere, to listen to you, and to be faithful to you and only you.” Her eyes fell to the vows again as she continued. “I promise to take care of you no matter what. I’ll always put you and our children first. I promise you this from today until the day I take my last breath.” She held out the ring and helped me push the platinum band past my wide knuckle.
“Cooper, do you take Kinsley to be your wife?”
“I do.” I grinned, squeezing her hands.
“Kinsley-”
“I do,” she squealed, her smile beaming, not letting the preacher even ask. The crowd laughed at her enthusiasm.
“Then by the -”
Yeah, we didn’t wait then either. I wrapped my arms around Kinsley, pulled her to me, and kissed her for the first time as my wife, Mrs. Kinsley O’Loughlin.
The End
Read on for a sneak peek at Adoring Ashton
Adoring ASHTON
An O’Loughlin Brothers Novel
Book Two
ONE
HOW DO YOU TELL SOMEONE that you care for deeply that you have been keeping a life-altering secret? I wasn’t sure how I found myself in that position but there I was.
When I drove from Charlotte, North Carolina last year to see my best friend, Kinsley, I had no idea I would meet someone that would rock me to the core the way Ashton did. He could possibly be the sexiest man I had ever laid eyes on. And boy did he know it.
Our introduction wasn’t the greatest either. I basically outed Kinsley, who was keeping her own secret from him. Thankfully, for their friendship, Ashton did not hold a grudge long. He walked in the room and my brain to mouth filter disappeared. I blamed it on the dimples.
Through tragedy, we found a shoulder of comfort in each other and everything else just sort of happened. In the two-month spent with Ash and Kinsley in Maryland, I found myself wanting things I knew I could never have but that didn’t stop the feelings I had for him.
At first, I only wanted someone to flirt with, possibly a summer fling, but then I got to know him, and all my plans went out the window. He made me feel things that terrified me.
Yesterday, I walked down the aisle as the maid of honor when my best friend married the love of her life, Cooper. He also happened to be Ashton’s older brother. Sexiness ran in the family genes. All three of the O’Loughlin brothers were smoking hot and made a cowboy hat look sexy as fuck.
Lying in bed, I looked over at Ashton, sleeping peacefully on his back with only his lower half covered. His dark hair fell over his closed eyes as one arm was tucked behind his head. The other draped across his bare, sculpted chest that made me want to lick ever bump and dip from his collarbones to the sexy V of his hips.
Before I could act on my dirty thoughts, my phone rang on the bedside table near Ash. I sprung out of the bed and dashed around the bed, snatching the phone up, pressing the lock button to silence it.
My father. My heart fell into my feet.
He had called several times over the last week, but I was avoiding the call. I already knew what he would say when I answered, and I didn’t want to hear it. I wanted to live in my little bubble a little longer before it burst.
I waited for the voicemail to pick up. I didn’t dare decline the call, he would know I was avoiding him. I did not need that. If I ignored him much longer, he would be on the next plane from Asheville.
The sunshine that came through the curtains in scattered streams told me today would be another beautiful day. The last week had been warm but less humid than North Carolina.
Tiptoeing around the room on the wooden floor, I found my robe tossed carelessly across the dresser near the door to the bathroom. I gently placed the phone on the sleek, black wood then picked up the robe, slipping my hands into the pink, silky armholes.
Looking back at Ash, I smiled even though my heart was tearing in two. I wished more than anything I could tell him what he wanted to hear. He wanted me to stay with him. He loved me, and I adored him.
At one point in my life, I didn’t believe in love. My parents had fucked me up beyond repair, but seeing the relationship that Kinsley’s parents, Philip and Olivia had, it gave me hope. I loved Kins and Coop, but they were still in the honeymoon phase of their relationship. I didn’t doubt that they loved each other, because they did, but time would tell if they would be just as happy fifteen years from now like her parents or miserable and at each other’s throats like mine.
With a deep breath, I picked my phone back up, slid my feet into my flip flops as I tied my robe and snuck out of the room. I felt ridiculous sneaking around, but I wasn’t ready to break Ashton’s heart. And mine in the process.
Ashton had a house built on his family’s farm a eight months ago, after his father passed away from cancer. I still couldn’t believe it had been a year since Scott died in front of us. The small Cape Cod home sat on the corner acre of
the massive property, close to the road. The master bedroom took up the whole second floor while two guest rooms sat empty downstairs.
Ash definitely lived life as a bachelor. I looked down at the open living room to my right as I descended the stairs. Minimal furniture, in hues of gray were scattered around the room all facing a massive television that hung above a wide, gray stone fireplace. Two identical charcoal-suede couches had pops of red in the way of throw pillows that came with the pair. They sat on top of the most amazing wood floor. Wide planks of rich walnut span the entire first floor, matching the wooden beams on the ceiling.
The front wall of the house doesn’t face the road like most. Ashton had it built facing the pastures. The front door was straight down the stairs while to the right three large windows encased in white trim allowed in the morning’s sun.
Stopping on the bottom stair, I listened for any movement from the direction I just came. Silence. I stepped down once more, unlocked the front door and stepped out onto the front porch. The crisp morning air caused my skin to shriek its disapproval of the drastic temperature difference as I sat down on the white rocking chair.
Opening my phone, I tapped my dad’s name and raised the phone to my ear, listening as it rang.
He answered on the second ring. “Good morning, Anna. You’re a hard person to get on the phone these days,” he said.
“Hi, Dad. I’m sorry, I was sleeping and couldn’t get to my phone fast enough. How’s Mom?” I tried the steer the conversation in my favor.
“Your mom is fine. How was the wedding?” he asked but sounds uninterested.
“It was beautiful, Dad,” I sighed, remembering the blue skies, warm air and how gorgeous Kinsley looked in her long white, flowing gown. Ashton looked mighty sexy himself. I couldn’t get him out of his suit fast enough last night. I was grateful for a mid-afternoon wedding instead of an evening one. “Kinsley and Cooper wanted me to thank you again for your wedding gift.”
“No thanks necessary.” He paused, and I knew his next words before he even said them. “Listen Anna, the reason I called was because we need to get things settled on when you’re coming home. You made a deal and it’s one that cannot be broken. You have a job waiting and-”
“I know, Dad. I don’t want to disappoint anyone.” I had heard the same thing over and over again. Responsibilities and commitments. “I just . . . need a little more time. I still haven’t told Ashton. He and Kins both still think I’m gonna stay here and I don’t know how to tell them I can’t.” The words caught in my throat as I pictured Ashton’s handsome face when I finally broke the news.
“Honey, your Uncle Javi is not a patient man but because he loves you so, you’ve never felt what it’s like to upset him. I don’t want you to ever know, so,” he sighed, “get things wrapped up. I expect you to be home by next weekend. You have much to learn about the family business.”
Before I could argue, beg or try to make a deal, Dad hung up. All of the hope I had, fell like rain from the sky, making a muddy mess of my life.
I knew I had to be honest with Ash, but I couldn’t bear to see the look on his face when I finally confessed. I didn’t have the heart to break his.
Dropping the phone to my lap, I wrapped my arms around my middle. The moment I had been dreading since I had met Ash was finally there, and I had no idea how to tell him. My throat tightened as I tried to think of words that would lessen the pain.
I wasn’t sure how long I sat there until I heard the front door open. Glancing over, I saw him then went back to staring out at the horses in the pasture.
“Babe,” Ashton called to me, stepping out of the house. His eyebrows were pinched together. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” My hand picked up the phone from my lap and held it up for him to see as I turned to look at him. “My dad called. I didn’t want to wake you up.”
He leaned on the doorframe, crossing his thick arms over his naked, wide chest. He had slipped on plaid pajama pants that hung from his sexy hips. I looked at him and lost all sense of right and wrong.
Right, would be me telling him about the conversation I had with my dad.
Wrong, would be me dropping to my knees in front of him and distracting him from the situation. Avoiding the pain that I knew was coming.
“You didn’t have to come outside, Anna. What’s up? What’s bothering you?” he asked, pushing off the door frame. It killed me that he knew me so well. It made what I had to do, so much harder.
“I . . .” I started to tell him, and my insides felt like they were going to escape through my throat. “Can we go inside?” I stood and shivered, then walked over to him.
“Yeah,” Ash nodded, dropped his arms and stepped out of the doorway.
Stopping in front of him, I leaned up on my tiptoes and brushed my lips over his. “I’m gonna run upstairs and throw some clothes on. Then we can talk over coffee, okay?”
“Sure. I’ll work on the coffee, because I don’t think my dick can handle me coming upstairs with you,” he informed me, his dimples appearing, weakening my knees.
My body tingled at the memories of the night before. He was a beast and quite the exhibitionist. At one point during the reception, he found me and led me to the barn where it was dark but still had a full view of the tables full of family and friends. The barn doors were mostly open, when he sat down on a bale of straw outside of one of the stalls.
He unzipped and unbuttoned his pants, rolled a condom down his thick length and pulled me to him. I had been ever-so-grateful to have worn a thong that could be pushed to the side as I straddled his hips and sank down on him. He smothered my moans with his kiss, absorbing every oh-god.
With people dancing and eating less than fifty yards away, I rode him hard and fast, terrified we would be caught. Much like every other time he had decided to fuck me in public, the thrill of getting caught made my orgasm even more intense.
Fuck me. My eyes rolled back as I remembered how he felt inside me. My core melted in the memories as I climbed the stairs. Squeezing my thighs together, I tried to create friction with each step. My clit throbbed with need as I reached the top of the stairs.
As I turned left at the top of the stairs, I heard the clank of ceramic followed by water running. In that moment, I decided against getting dressed, instead going with my first instinct.
Distraction.
The truth could wait a little longer.
***
Adoring ASHTON
Coming Soon
A.F. CROWELL LIVES IN CHARLESTON, SC with her husband and two sons. They have two dogs, Dez, a black Labrador Retriever and Diesel, a German Shepherd rescue. She shares her love of books with her children, who have a head start on becoming life-long readers.
Romance fiction hit her radar when her husband forced her to watch Twilight one weekend when they were snowed in. That was it! From there her love grew; Romantic Suspense, Contemporary Romance, New Adult, Dystopian and Paranormal are her preferred reads.
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